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HISTORY 



OF 



WALTON COUNTY 



By JOHN L. McKINNON 



PRICE $3.00 



19 11 

The Btbd Printino Co. 

Atlanta, Ga. 






©CI.A303S90 

NO. I 




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CONTENTS. 



FIRST EPOCH. 

PAGE 

Sketches Pertaining to Walton County's History 9 

The Finding and Settling of Walton County 13 

Col. McKinnon Receives Letter 21 

Col. McKinnon's Last Visit Before Moving Family 38 

The First Gin, Grist and Saw Mill 56 

The Origin of the Euchees 67 

A Council Called by Neil MeLendon and the Chief 72 

Goes in Search 83 

The Euchees Depart from Walton 94 

Neil MeLendon Getting Ready to Leave 98 

Settles Near Waco 103 

Walton's First Sensation, or Sam Story's and McLendoa's 

Exodus 106 

SECOND EPOCH. 

The Indian War 109 

THIRD EPOCH. 

The Creek War In Walton 118 

Interviewing Times Between the Two Wars 129 

Ferocious Animals 139 

The Great American Bald Eagle 154 

The Negro In Walton 164 

Physical Improvements 177 

John Newton, The Teacher 181 

Medley In Their Physique and in Attaining Aims 184 

Newton, the Knox Hill Teacher 189 



6 Contents. 

School in Center of Valley 190 

Fourth July 194 

Lesson Outside f»f Books 201 

A Man of Few Words 210 

A Man of Prayer 214 

Contraband Books 218 

His Home 223 

He Marries 226 

Churches 239 

The Ringring Out of the Old and the Ringing of the New. . . 244 

Dedication Day 247 

She Ijongs for the Valley Worship 253 

The City of Our Dead 256 

Mary Gillis 261 

FOURTH EPOCH. 

The Civil War 269 

Re-enlistment — Two Companies 274 

Leaves Camp Walton 277 

On to Vicksburg 282 

Battle of Chicamauga 285 

General E. Johnson is Superseded by General John B. 

Hood, Who Goes in Rear of General Sherman 299 

General Joseph E. Johnston's Battles and Retreats to Atlanta 291 

The Battle of Franklin 301 

Lady Sympathizers 308 

To Johnson's Island Prison in Lake Erie 310 

Walton's Soldier at Home 323 

The Ashboth Raid 327 

Committee Sent 332 

Reclaiming Property and Settling Deserters 337 

The Carpet Bag Negro Rule of Reconstruction 340 

Sorrow and Progress 348 



Contents. 7 

FIFTH EPOCH. 

The Projection of the P. and A. Raih-oad 350 

De Funiak Springs 352 

The Florida Chautauqua Established 358 

Schools 363 

Churches in De Funiak 366 

Walton's Daughters 368 

The Monument 373 

Gov. Da\dd S. Walker's Tribute to Walton's Dauerhters 380 



The Lotus Land. 9 

FIR5T LPOCH. 

Chapter 1st. 

Sketches Pertaining to Walton County's History. 

Walton County originally embraced that territory lying 
between Black Water Rivet en the west, Choctawhatchie 
River on the east, Alabama on the north, and the Gulf 
of Mexico on the south. 

This grand old County, large enough for a state, with 
its primeval forests, beautiful bays, winding rivers, and 
gushing springs, was formed November 28, A. D. 1828, 
with an area of 2918 square miles. The first census was 
taken in A. D. 1830, and showed a population of only 
1,207, not quite a half man to the square mile. O, how 
lonely these individuals must have felt in this wilderness 
of woods ! The name "Walton" was given to this ter- 
ritory in honor of General Andrew Jackson's efficient 
aid. Colonel George Walton. 

November 28, A. D. 1842, Walton County gave birth 
to Santa Rosa County, giving all of her territory west of 
Yellow River. And January 8, A. D. 1818, she con- 
tributed 435 square miles out of her northeast corner and 
west of the Choctawhatchie River, to form what is now 
known as Holmes County. This leaves the Walton 
County of today, with 1,384 square miles, quite a large 
county yet. 

Now, it is this territory of the Highlands of Western 
Florida, the very foot-hills of the Blue Ridge, lying prac- 
tically between these rivers, the Mexican Gulf and Ala- 
bama, this land thus hedged in, and its people, that we 
propose, in the main, to speak of through these pages. 



10 History of VValtox County. 

In writing this history we feel that it is due to the 
memory of the aborigines, our Scotch pioneers, and for 
the wholesome benefit of their descendants, who may feel 
that they have eclipsed them in learning and in the true 
ways of life in these advanced days of thinking, of educa- 
tion, and of fashion. 

We will venture to say just here that there are but 
few bits of territory to be found anywhere that are so 
pregnant with readable history, if properly brought out, 
as this little, once isolated, Walton section. Lying here, 
as it were, in the protecting arms of her bounding riv- 
ers, with these loving daughters keeping faithful watch, 
with her head lying in the lap of Alabama, that says, 
"Here let us rest," while the great Mexican Gulf, at one 
time, humbly washing her feet with its gentle waves, to 
make them pure and white like snow, and at another 
time dashing her angry waves in maddened fury upon 
her, with hollow murmuring that sickens the heart and 
threatens destruction. Listen! Jupiter is enraged now, 
the coruscations of his wrath leap over the deep, the 
pent-up winds are loosed from their caverns, and old 
Neptune is riding in glory on the surging waves and 
through the angry breakers. What a picture! Hugged 
on either side in the loving arms of unsleeping protec- 
tion, her head at rest, while her feet are being trampled 
upon by cruel waves threatening total destruction. 
Unique though this picture may seem, yet we find that 
it symbolizes the history of her people. 

This little land, in its people, has had the strongest 
protection and the most gracious plenty, the sweetest 
rest in peace, and the most heart-wringing sorrows and 
cruel surges in war. There are episodes of the home- 
love and of the chase, episodes of peace and of war, and 



The Lotus Land. 11 

if they fail of being brought out, you may still be sure 
that they are here. 

Who Were the First Settlers of Walton County? 

In the years A. D. 1808-09-10-11-12, there was an Eng- 
lish ship named "Scotia" that made regular trips from 
Liverpool to Wilmington, North Carolina, and New Am- 
sterdam, bringing passengers. The greater portion of 
the emigrants that came from the different parts of Scot- 
land stopped in Wilmington, especially those that came 
in the year A. D. 1810, for these were all Scotch from the 
Highlands ; and in these years the Scotch and Scotch 
Irish emigrants came over by the hundreds to North 
Carolina. A few of their relatives went to Canada. We 
know of no radical cause for their leaving their native 
heath. Some say "They left to escape the halter." There 
was no persecution, either in Church or State at that 
time, to cause them to emigrate. They came fully im- 
pregnated with the Calvinistic doctrines and the love of 
country, and the liberty that ever burns in every Scotch- 
man's breast. They had Scotch friends and relatives 
here that were identified with the first settlers of North 
Carolina. They had glowing descriptions of the country 
and its liberties ; and this gave them a longing for this 
better land. These emigrants would often call for bless- 
ings on the good ship that brought them safely over the 
waters, and would speak of the "Scotia" as their "May 
Flower." — the second "May Flower." 

Now, it was from these Scottish emigrants and their 
descendants that the first settlers of Walton County 
came. In studying the general history of this county, 
we will find three men standing out prominently in their 
respective spheres, — one born in Isle of Sky Scotland, 



12 History of Walton County. 

one in North Carolina, and the other in Pennsylvania, — 
one a foreigner, one a Southerner, the other a North- 
erner, — the first two by extraction Scotchmen, the third a 
Puritan Yankee, — the first two were first cousins, the 
third with no kin south of the Mason and Dixon line, — 
the first and the last with a classical education, the second 
one with a common school education but with a great 
deal of good, common sense. They all three commenced 
their life's work in North Carolina, — the first a farmer, 
the second a general surveyor of lands and stock raising, 
the third a practical school teacher. But they were all 
together on one essential thing — they were religious — all 
staunch Presbyterians of the old Scotch Covenanters' 
type or of the old Calvinistic order. So this solves the 
mystery of how this strange combination of men can be 
seen marching up and down through this little land, 
making history up to date ; especially when the Southern 
born Scotchman and the Yankee never met, — the farmer 
finishing his work and leaving more than a decade before 
the teacher came to begin his, but leaving the stockman 
surveyor on hand to introduce the teacher to his work. 

Now, the prominent leader of the three, in starting our 
history, was Neill McLendon, the "Pathfinder," (or Neill 
McClellan. as he was sometimes called in Texas), Colo- 
nel John L. McKinnon stood for the military and civil 
trend, and John Newton represented the educational in- 
terest, — while no one prominently, but all, generally and 
faithfully, represented the religious, agricultural and 
commercial advance. All this will be brought out more 
prominently as we move along. 




1. GUY DAVIS. 

2. A. D. McKINNON. 



a. UK. C. l-:. McKINNON. 

4. COL. JOHN L. McKINNON. 



The Lotus Land. 13 



Chapter IL 

The Finding and Settling of Walton County. 

In the spring of A. .D. 1820, Neill McLendon of Rich- 
mond County, North Carolina, a born pioneer, in the 
glow of manhood, full of health and strength, a leader 
of men, with advanced thoughts and ideas, the very soul 
of integrity, alive with energy and courage, — this man, — 
this typical Scotchman, who could never see any danger 
in the way of anything that he wished to accomplish 
which he didn't feel he could over-leap, — this remarka- 
ble man, this Trailer, became restless in the old North 
State and longed for a newer and better country, — a cat- 
tle, hog and sheep range, — a home where he could have 
"more elbow room" and breathe purer air. 

He had read of Florida, "the land of sunshine and flow- 
ers," of its towering pines and spreading oaks, its green 
pasturage, its great bays, lakes and rivers, abounding in 
fish, and of the mighty gulf that lashed its shores. He 
longed to have a plenty of everything, so in that early 
spring morning he sprang from his bed, got ready, with 
his wife and family, his brother Lochlin and his family, 
and his brother-in-law, Daniel D. Campbell, an unmar- 
ried man, and one John Folk and his family, and started 
out with their teams in the direction of Pensacola, 
through that zone which was opened up through South 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida, by removing, 
through treaty, the unfriendly Creek Indians westward. 

After many adventures by the way, which, if recorded, 
would fill a little volume, they reached Florida near Bluff 
Springs, and rested for a while along the banks of the 



14 History of Walton County. 

Escambia and Black Water Rivers. They were much 
pleased with that beautiful country. They went up and 
down the lands between those two rivers, looking at the 
lay of the country and pretty streams, but it was not ex- 
actly what McLendon wanted, or was hunting for. He 
visited Pensacola often, and made many friends among 
the Spaniards, especially among the officials and mer- 
chant men. He had a great tact of winning friends 
among those whom he met in every grade of society. 
While he was in plain dress, and coarse, or abrupt in 
manner, he had a good kind heart, had many winsome 
ways to draw men to him. It might be said of him, "He 
was a plain blunt man that loved his friends." He told 
the merchants, whom he had met there, the kind of coun- 
try he was looking for and must find. An old doctor 
heard him, and joined with the merchants in telling him 
of the new country up the Choctawhatchie Bay and River 
that was hemmed in by the Gulf and rivers. They 
informed him that there was but one way by which he 
could reach this hermit place, and that was by boat 
through the bay and intricate channels of the sounds and 
narrows along Santa Rosa Island. They told him that, 
while they had never seen this country, they had most 
bewitching descriptions of it from the Chief of a friendly 
tribe of Indians called Uch'ees ; that they had lived there 
for years and years and they had never heard of any of 
the tribe going on the war-path through all these years. 
These men pictured this Indian Chief, whose name was 
"Sam Story," as a most Avonderful Indian, full of born 
integrity, with a kind, warm heart in him. punctual to 
meet his obligations, who made a most acceptable chief, 
governing well his tribes ; that he came regularly five or 
six times each year to Pensacola in his market boats. 



The Lotus Land. 15 

bringing both fish and dried game for sale ; that he would 
be in about the last of the next week, and if he would 
come in then they would introduce him to the Chief, who 
would tell him all about his country and how to get there, 
but they felt sure that the only way was by the Chief's 
trading boats and their piloting through the narrow chan- 
nels. McLendon was well pleased with what he learned 
from these Spanish merchants, and went to his home on 
the Escambia to rest and dream of the ideal country in 
prospect. 

When the appointed time came to go to Pensacola, he 
went promptly. This stout, brawny, typical Scotchman, 
in the very prime of life and strength, met and was intro- 
duced to the tall, agile, Indian Chief, just a little worn 
with age, with high cheek bones, a prominent, receding 
forehead, flashing eyes, and a wide mouth that spoke in 
muffled tones about his great hunting ground, and of 
McLendon's welcome up there. As the Chief talked, — 
and he talked well both in the Spanish and English 
tongues, as well as in his own dialect — McLendon's 
friends could see the benign smiles play upon his face. 
All could see that there was, or would be, friendship be- 
tween the two, that there were things common in their 
natures that might lead to something good. The Chief 
said to McLendon "Come and see," told him the best 
way for him to come, — was to go back to his home on 
the Escambia and go up the river to a certain point, and! 
there he would find an Indian trail leading from the 
Northwest toward the Southeast, and if he would follow 
that trail it would lead him to his headquarters on the 
south bank of Bruce Creek (opposite what is now Euchee 
Anna). This place is now known as the "Old Place," 
being the first settled place in the County, the home, for 



16 History of Walton County. 

a while, of the McLendons, and the one long cherished 
home of Colonel McKinnon in Florida. 

So, in a little while, this home-seeker, when he had ar- 
ranged some things in his Escambia Camp, put his broth- 
er Lochlin in charge of the women folk, had food pre- 
pared, and a lot of bullets molded for his long Buchanan 
rifle, took a good night's rest, got up with the dawn, and 
started for the home of his newly made friend, "Sam 
Story." He was accompanied by his brother-in-law 
Daniel D. Campbell, whose sister he had married, and 
who is the father of Judge John L. Campbell of Chipley, 
Florida, and of our Dr. Daniel L. Campbell, who is with 
us here in De Funiak Springs today, — and that John 
Folk. 

This trailer had no trouble in getting on the right trail, 
and keeping on it. With their guns and packs on their 
backs, they followed this dimly beaten path, wading, 
swimming, or pontooning the creeks and rivers that fell 
across their way. This trail led them right along where 
DeFuniak now is, and by the little round lake, or spring, 
that was later called the "Open Pond," and on across In- 
dian and Bruce Creeks to the Chief's quarters. When 
there, they were gladly welcomed and royally received. 
Sam Story had returned home from Pensacola, so they 
lodged with him. They were served with strong black 
coffee, fresh Indian cornbread. beaten in a hand mortar, 
fresh game and jerked venison hams, which they ate with 
a relish after their long journey. 

The dress, manners, and general appearance of the 
young natives were no greater curiosity to these white 
men, than the appearance of these white men were to 
them. /Most of them had never seen a "pale face" be- 
fore. These Indians were all dressed in the skins of ani- 



The Lotus Land. 17 

mals, nicely prepared in tanning. The women were gor- 
geously arrayed in beads and turkey feathers in their 
headwear. The young braves were much taken up with 
the "pale faces' " long guns. Sam Story had quite a 
large family of tall boys and girls and they seemed to be 
above the other families in knowledge and manners. The 
other families seemed to realize this and gave them due 
respect. 

After two days rest, the old Chief, with his young 
braves, took his white friends out to show them his fine 
hunting ground. All started well equipped, to be gone 
several days. They went up and down the land from 
one end to the other, along the Gulf, the bays, lakes, 
springs and rivers. Before the look was half over, all 
save McLendon, saw enough and were worn out and 
returned to the quarters to rest ; but the old Chief and 
McLendon went and went from daylight until dark, 
through broad savannas of rich grass, through river 
swamp, and cane brake, admiring the beauty and util- 
ity of the country. As they went they gave no thought 
to the reptiles that crawled at their feet, nor to the wild 
beasts that reluctantly moved out of their way. This 
man came to see, — he saw and was captivated. He came 
back to the station refreshed instead of worn out. He 
knew now, pretty much all about the country he came 
to see. He was pleased beyond his expectation. As he 
walked on the rich green grass amid the forests of lofty 
pines, they seemed as Elysian groves to him. When he 
laid himself down at night around the camp fires to rest, 
he said "This is an Eldorado enough for me." 

While they were resting and recuperating for their re- 
turn, they were shown around the quarters, the tan- 
neries, the circles of the green corn dances, and the fields 



18 History of Walton County. 

where they raised the corn for the dance. This field was 
a good size corn field in the midst of the dense swamp 
of Bruce Creek, with only a trail leading to it. Here was 
a rich green field of Indian corn growing, with no fence 
around it, — there was no need of a fence, as there was 
not a domestic animal in all this region, except their lit- 
tle Indian ponies with their long manes and tails. It may 
be well to say here that this field is on the "Old Place" 
and that Colonel McKinnon cultivated it for a number 
of years after the Euchees left, and let it grow up in tim- 
ber and cleared it up again and cultivated it in his life 
time, and that one of his sons has this same field under 
cultivation today, and raising on it good stuff, and it is 
known today as the "old Indian field." 

The old Pathfinder was pleased the more when he saw 
what fine corn could be grown in this beautiful country. 
He saw at once how independent one could live here, and 
this was the paramount thought in his mind while on 
the search. He did not conceal from the old Chief how 
well he was pleased, and this pleased the chief, especially 
when he found that he wanted to come, because their late 
association drew them closer together. He gave him his 
tomahawk and told him to blaze out such lands as he 
wanted, without any reservation for himself. Now, we 
look at this as the very highest type of pure genuine love, 
especially as it exists between the red man and the pale 
face, equal, I may say, to any on record; equal to that 
which existed between William Penn and Roger Wil- 
liams and their red men ; yes, to that of Captain Smith 
and Pocahontas. And the beauty of this is that McLen- 
don knew how to appreciate it, as will be shown, and he 
was modest in choosing, taking homes for himself and 



The Lotus Land. 19 

brother adjoining the Chief's ; and a little farther down on 
the creek and bend, homes for the rest of his friends. 

Now these three men were the first white men to come 
into this territory, seeking and finding homes. All things 
having been satisfactorily arranged for their new homes 
in this wild country, and having gained a pretty good 
idea of the lay of the land by tramping up and down 
through it, they are now ready to return to their camp 
home on the Escambia. They advised with the Chief as 
to the best route to reach their new homes with their 
teams and families. He, being thoroughly familiar with 
the contour of the whole land, advised them to move well 
up the rivers, and they would surround the heads or find 
fords across their prongs ; and following these instruc- 
tions, and the knowledge McLendon had of the country, 
they would have but little water to contend with along 
the way. So with their guns and packs on their backs, 
and well provided with food for their way, through the 
red man's hospitality, they took leave of their new abori- 
ginal friends, and went with quick steps and glad hearts 
back to their families along the same old Indian trail 
which they came. 

After an absence of one month, with few incidences of 
worth, along the way, other than like those they had when 
going, they reached their dear ones, to find them all well 
and heartily rejoicing at their safe return, for said Mrs. 
McLendon, "You stayed so long, and we heard so much, 
after you were gone, of small bands of hostile Indians 
massacring whole families of prospecting parties, and of 
the cruel reptiles and savage wild beasts in the way you 
went, it made us awful sad, and we were fearful that we 
would see you no more; sure we are glad to welcome 
vou back, my dear." Then said McLendon, "Don't you 



20 History of Walton County. 

know there is never a lion in the way of those seeking 
good for themselves and others? Why, we never saw a 
living creature along our way, save one lone, black, black 
crow, and he spoke to us in the kindest language that he 
knew, and flew away to tell his friends of our coming." 
These adventurers rested and talked several days with 
their families about what they had learned while gone, 
about the beauties of nature undisturbed, — nature in her 
happiest moods. 



The Lotus Land. 21 



Chapter IIL 

Col. McKinnon Receives Letter. 

McLendon wrote a long eight page foolscap letter, full 
of truths, to Colonel McKinnon in North Carolina, about 
the new country he had found. This letter was read and 
appreciated by all of his Scotch friends and their friends. 
They knew it was just as he said it was ; there was little 
that was pessimistic in the letter, and his optimistic ideas 
were all based on facts that he gave. This letter set the 
minds and hearts of that people on fire. We wish we 
had that letter as it was written, that we might interject 
it into this history, believing, from what we have heard of 
it, that it would be more satisfactory to the reader than 
anything we shall be able to produce. 

It was some little while before these emigrants struck 
camps to move to their new homes. They went several 
times to Pensacola on business and hoping to meet Sam 
Story. Finally they met up with him there, and at his 
instance, they brought in all their moving that they could 
possibly dispense with on the way, that he might take 
them up on his market boat and give them light wagons 
to come across the country. This proved to be a most 
excellent arrangement, and another illustration of his 
born unselfishness. In a little while after these arrange- 
ments, these homeseekers, in their light wagons, with 
plenty of prepared food for the way, started out north- 
ward, circumventing creeks, or passing over river prongs, 
through fords, bearing eastward, until they had reached 
the watershed that divides the waters flowing into the 
rivers and bays to the southwest, and those flowing in 



23 History of Walton County. 

the rivers to the southeast, and then turned south and 
southeast and reached their destination with compara- 
tively little trouble. Again, they with their families are 
welcomed by their new friends. 

After a little rest, they settle down on their lands, and 
with the tools they had provided in Pensacola, they go 
to work and soon they build, out of round logs, com- 
fortable bungalows to shelter their families. Then they 
enter the forests with their axes to fell the trees and 
clear away the brushes to make bread, — they had already 
learned that there would be no trouble about meat as 
long as their old Buchanan rifles could be kept in ammu- 
nition. 

To say that these families were now happy in their 
new homes would be but putting it mildly. They 
thought, no doubt, that this would be their earthly home 
for all time, — and this was true of some of them. They 
felt too that they would soon have their friends and re- 
lations around them in this goodly land and there would 
be no more moving around, — this also was true to a great 
extent. 

When Colonel McKinnon received that descriptive let- 
ter, he read it with great interest and was pleased. The 
letter urged him to come at once and bring some of his 
laborers and certain tools to prepare a home before bring- 
ing his family, and gave him the Chief's and his own best 
ideas as to how to reach them. The Colonel was a prac- 
tical surveyor and a good localist, and his business had 
brought him often through South Carolina, Georgia and 
Alabama, as far down as Columbus and Montgomery, so 
these advantages would make the route practically easy 
for him. In a little while he made ready for the trip. 
He was unmarried then, but married on his return, April 



The^ Lotus Land. 33 

26, A. D. 1821, and before his second trip to Florida. 
He procured his younger brother, Daniel L, McKinnon, 
who stayed in his home and faithfully took care of his 
interest there until he moved to Florida. iHe owned a 
large reliable bay stallion horse named Jack. He pro- 
cured a strong two-wheeled vehicle, which he called a 
"gig," — suppose we would call it today a "road-cart." 
All things arranged, he took leave of his family and 
friends and started out with Jack and his gig and a trusty 
negro man named George, to find his friends and to make 
a new home in Florida. They did not travel on the same 
route that the McLendon party came, but went a good 
bit farther toward the east and struck in about where 
Geneva, Alabama, now is, and came on a few miles west 
of DeFuniak Springs, striking in at the "Faye Place" 
where the Freeport and DeFuniak road now leads, and 
around the heads of Bruce and Mill Creeks, on to the 
"Old Place," where he found his friends hard at work, 
who were as glad to see George and himself as they were 
to find them. 

That first evening and most of the night was spent in 
wholesome talk about the old home folks and the new 
country. Their journey from the old North State was, 
upon the whole, a pleasant one, with many adventures 
of interest, especially from George's view point. This 
was a great trip for him, and he, in the passing years, 
would often entertain the younger generation for hours 
with his stories of wonder on that trip. But there is so 
much to tell we will have to leave this unwritten. They 
found no one along the way who could give them better 
ideas of how to go than they had themselves. After they 
got across Pea River a little way, they met in with three 
Euchee hunters, who gave them directions how to go 



24 History of Walton County. 

around Bruce and Mill Creeks that they might get with 
their gig to the Chief's headquarters. 

After a little rest the old pioneer took his first visitor, 
in quest of a home in the new land, to the old Chief, and 
introduced him as his near relative and friend. This 
was enough for the Chief; he extended his red hand, — 
but not red with blood — took hold of the white hand of 
the new comer with a hearty grasp and a welcome shake. 
He handed him his tomahawk, which was never stained 
with the blood of a pale face, and told him to go into the 
woods and blaze out a home for himself where he liked. 
What wonderful friendship and marked unselfishness 
already existed between these two heroes of peace ! And 
it will be well for us to note the powers of these virtues 
as they exist here in the very inception, the very germ of 
the colonies that were to come, because we will show 
that these virtues had their counterpart in the pioneers 
that came. 

Friendship is a beautiful and sacred relation between 
those who understand each other. It implies a commu- 
nity of interest, perfect confidence, mutual support, and 
an exchange somewhere of that which stimulates life. 
But self-interest and Christ-likeness have little in com- 
mon. This is the boast of the worldly, the self-centered, 
the stingy soul, — "I look out for number one." The love 
and common interest expressed among these early set- 
tlers for each other's welfare is a friendship sufficient to 
awaken the minds and make the hearts of their descend- 
ants thrill with pleasure and flush with pride. 

Colonel McKinnon located his trusty servant, George, 
in a log cabin which he made near his friend McLendon 
and arranged for his provisions. He left him to help his 
friends fix up homes and clear up lands for the coming 



The; Lotus Land. 25 

year's crop, then he went, piloted at one time by McLen- 
don alone, and at other times accompanied by the Chief 
and some of his braves, and leisurely surveyed the coun- 
try, in the sense of looking it over carefully, for he had 
nothing to work with except his sun dial, which he used 
as a compass to travel by, and his watch which he car- 
ried in his pocket all his days in Florida, which he 
claimed never varied from the right time, — he kept it in 
proof with his sun dial. They went up and down every 
creek and river, around or over every lake and spring, 
over every sand hill, and through every savanna, through 
the dense swamps along the creeks and rivers, making 
rough pencil sketches or maps as he went, and dotting 
down things of interest as they passed along. 

He went on a trip with Sam Story and his crew in 
their market boats, roughly constructed crafts. They 
took shipping from a landing on the Choctawhatchie 
River in the bend made by Bruce Creek and the River, 
called then "Mushy Bend," but known now by the more 
classical name, "Mossy Bend," on account of the pendant 
moss that swings to and fro in such beautiful gray hanks 
from the trees. This landing was called, and is now 
known, by the name of "Story's Landing," named for 
the old Chief. They went down the river, out into the 
Choctawhatchie Bay, and through it, into the beautiful 
streams of water, the Narrows and Sound, and on 
through Pensacola Bay to the town of Pensacola, where 
he remained several days, making friends among the 
Spaniards, which continued undisturbed for a half cen- 
tury. The produce sold, — stores for the trip and mer- 
chandise for the friends in the home procured, they set 
sail for Story's Landing through the same waters which 
they came, visiting many of the bayous and inlets on 



26 History of Walton County. 

either side as they returned, and having quite a lot of 
rare sport in fishing and hunting along the way. When 
they reached Story's Landing they were met with the 
Indian ponies to pack out the merchandise to the homes. 
When back, they made a reckoning of the time spent on 
the trip, and they found that they had been gone nearly 
two months, and this, too, without wasting much time 
on the way. So much for the rudely constructed Indian 
market boats of that day. That trip could be made now 
in two or three days. 

Now, the Colonel having explored the land and sur- 
roundings to his satisfaction, made choice for his fu- 
ture home, the fertile hammock lands on Bruce Creek 
to the westward of the McLendon's and Indian fields 
and quarters of the Chief. Sam Story now had the Col- 
onel just west of him and friend McLendon on the east. 
The Colonel was very much pleased with the country, 
the aborigines, and his trip to Pensacola. Only those 
who have listened to his description of this country in 
detail in the latter years, or that of any of the early set- 
tlers, can have a correct idea of its beauties and glories. 
He held nothing back that would show his friends here 
and the Chief, how well he was pleased, and his pur- 
poses in the future. He showed George where he wanted 
him to clear away for the home and field, when he got 
through with such help as he was to give his friends 
here, which would occupy his time through the incom- 
ing spring. He saw that he was well provided for 
in the hands of McLendon, so he made ready to leave 
for home. 

He hitched up Jack to the "gig," took leave of the red 
man, the black man, and his pale face friends, bade adieu 
to his home in prospect, left the land of sunshine and 



The Lotus Land. 27 

flowers, for his home in the old North State. As he 
drove off, McLendon called to him, approached him, and 
said, "See here, John, be cautious and don't encourage 
any trash to come here, there is plenty of room in other 
places for them. We want families to come who have 
tact, from any nationality, who know how to treat rightly 
their fellow human beings of any race or color." We 
have reason to believe this caution was given considera- 
tion. We were reminded of this advice by an incident 
which occurred not many years ago down in Euchee 
Valley. 

Some of the "old time" colored people in the Valley 
felt that they wanted to worship in a Presbyterian Church 
organization as they did in the "ante bellum" days. They 
applied to our Presbytery, and a commission was sent in 
due time who found the way clear, and organized the 
Church with quite an intelligent set of colored people. 
They elected for elders an old time conscientious Chris- 
tion man, full of good solid sense, — the other was a 
bright, ambitious, sensible young man, the son of a 
"good-old-before-the-War-slave." When the meeting 
broke up and the people began to leave, the young elder 
called the old elder aside and said to him, "See here, 
Uncle Cal, let us go slow in this church business, let's 
don't take in the trash." "Look here, my son," said the 
old man, "it is our duty to go as fast as we can and get 
in as many as we can into the church and see to making 
them better men and women." "That may be so," sai'^ 
the young elder, "but there is plenty of room in the other 
churches around for the trash." We do not know what 
effect this young elder's thought had, but it is well to say 
here, that their church has built up slowly and they have 
ever had an intelligent, educated, preacher to break the 



28 History of Walton County. 

bread of life to them, a graduate of the Presbyterian 
school at Tuscaloosa, Ala. 

After short stops in Alabama and Georgia on business, 
the Colonel reached his home, having been gone eight 
months, to rejoice with his anxious dear ones and friends 
in a reunion that was dear, after being gone so long on a 
trip that seemed to them so full of danger. They had 
only heard from him once while absent. In a letter 
which unfolded to them the description of the new coun- 
try which lay so fresh enfolded in his mind, he confirmed 
all that McLendon had written and gave more. He was 
like the Queen of Sheba, "The half had never been told." 

This, in substance, is what he had to say, viz. : "Truly 
it is the land of sunshine and flowers. No wonder that 
the bold Spanish adventurer, standing upon the prow of 
his caravel on that Sunday of Palms, when he first 
caught sight of these lovely shores, exclaimed 'Linda, 
Florida, — fair land of flowers.' This bold Spanish ad- 
venturer and devout Castilian, beheld in her a fit emblem 
of the day. The aborigines know better how to take 
care of their country than the white man does. They 
never allow the fires to run wild and burn up their range. 
This is why they have so much beauty in flowers and 
utility in such abundance in stock feed. The piney woods 
lands along the up-hills and ridges are generally sandy 
and do not appear to be productive ; fine wire grass for 
grazing purposes at your feet, and the tall moaning pines 
above your heads are what you see. The pine lands 
lying along the creeks and rivers seem to be more pro- 
ductive. There are some hammock lands on the creeks 
and rivers as rich in soil as there is any use for, will grow 
anything. The branches, creeks and rivers are splendid 
streams, the best watered country I ever saw. The riv- 



The Lotus Land. 29 

ers with the gulf are great barriers against depredators. 
The rivers can and will be made navigable. There are a 
great variety of lakes and springs, varying in shape, size 
and depths. One of these springs is upon the top of a hill, 
sending forth the purest, limpid waters, perfectly round, 
and just one mile in circumference. The aborigines say 
there is no bottom to this lake (DeFuniak Springs). A 
little way further on in a northwest direction you find 
the double lakes (Lake Stanley) ; twenty-four miles fur- 
ther, and on the Alabama line you come to a large lake 
several miles in circumference (Lake Jackson) ; twelve 
miles northeast of the round spring on the hill you come 
to the other large lake in the piney woods, covering more 
than a section of land (Lake Cassida) ; go in the same 
direction, four or five miles, near the Alabama line, and 
you come to a boiling spring in the piney woods, cover- 
ing a small area, but sending forth a large stream of cold 
mineral water, — there seem to be two mighty boils, sep- 
arated by a ledge of rock, supporting this spring; some 
claim that it was just one great boil and not two, that the 
ledge of rock that appeared to separate them extended 
only a little way down, while others claim it extends 
to the bottom and formed two distinct boils (Turner 
Spring)". It will be well to note here that this spring be- 
came, in the days to come, a great health and pleasure re- 
sort and many came here to be recuperated. Colonel 
McKinnon came here with his family and friends many 
summers for rest and pleasure. On one occasion while 
a number of them were bathing in the spririg, the 
discussion came up as to whether there was one or 
two distinct boils in the spring. The Colonel being an 
athlete in water, stepped upon the spring board and said, 
"I will dive down and see if I can't settle this question." 



30 History of Walton County. 

He gave a spring, bounded up in the air, came down head 
foremost into the upper boil, and in a little while came 
up through the lower boil, amid the shouts of the 
crowd, bearing the mark of his triumph in a long 
deep cut down his back that he carried with him to 
his grave, which was made by a sharp projecting 
rock that caught him as he sprang up through the 
lower division. This settled the discussion for a while, 
but in another generation it came up for discussion again 
and on one occasion, while quite a crowd was present, 
and in bathing, some one told what the Colonel had done. 
Some expressed a doubt, and Angus M. McKinnon of 
Geneva, Alabama, a grandson of the Colonel's, who was 
a live didapper in the water, was moved to exclaim, "I 
know there is but one boil," and leaped into the upper 
opening and came up out of the lower boil without a 
scratch, his companions cheering him, saying, "You beat 
your grandfather, — now we know there is but one." This 
was not the only time that he performed this water feat, 
but on several other occasions he gratified his friends by 
the performance. These two are the only ones we ever 
heard of that did go under that ledge. 

A little to the south of this spring, and a little further 
down, you reach a beautiful spring near the banks of 
what the Indians called "Big Sandy," which mingles its 
waters with those of the blue spring and with the limpid 
waters of this great creek (Ponce de Leon Spring). Now 
as this spring came to be quite a lesort, especially for the 
young people after pleasure and love making in the 
woods, it will be well to interject this thought here, — 
Anthony Brownell from the upper part of the country, 
built what was then a large hotel : a neat double-pen, 
round log, house, rooms 18 ft. by 18 ft., with a 12 foot 




JAifTES McLEAN. 



The Lotus Land. 31 

hall between, nice shed rooms on one side and a 12 foot 
gallery on the front. He had patronage, but the war 
came on and broke up his enterprise, and he sold out the 
plant and the building fell into decay. In a short time 
one of the old Scotch pioneers, James McLean, purchased 
the lands and left the spring to stand surrounded with its 
natural growth and to be free to the families seeking 
health or rest, to build booths or bungalows for summer 
rest, and to the young to have their innocent pleasure in 
picnics and fishing. When the Pensacola and Atlantic 
Division of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was 
projected by this spring, many were the parties that ap- 
proached Mr. McLean, offering him fancy prices for the 
spring to build large commodious hotels and bathing 
houses, to make a summer resort for health and pleas- 
ure seekers. But the old Scotch pioneer, notwithstand- 
ing he was not immune to want, shook his aged head, 
with its curly, silvery locks hanging down toward his 
shoulders, and said "No, no, I want this spring to remain 
in its natural state, without a vine or a tree being dis- 
turbed, as long as I live, at least, for the benefit and pleas- 
ure of my friends." 

There was not a word further said, they saw that he 
meant just what he said, and that was enough. The old 
hero of service, love and unselfishness has passed over 
the river and is resting in the shades of the trees 
and drinking from the river of life that has its source 
from beneath the Throne of God. And today, that 
spring, in its primeval beauty, is rushing out its cool 
waters from beneath the shades of that great oak which 
has stood so long upon its banks, serving as a leaping 
place for the boys to jump into the spring. But 
now this old oak tree is bending over, as its owner did. 



32 History of Walton County. 

with the wear and tear of life, and soon it will lay down 
in its cold watery grave and will be borne away to larger 
waters. 

Four miles further down Big Sandy, and not far from 
its mouth, we come to a mammoth mineral spring, with 
different surroundings; in the edge of the creek, and 
river swamp, with great cypress trees standing around 
its banks as sentinels, with gray moss hanging in 
streamers from their limbs. This spring would float 
the biggest war vessel in the world. It empties its 
waters into the Choctawhatchie River that is two miles 
away, through a stream which is six feet deep and 80 
feet wide. It flows from beneath two ledges of rock, it 
is at least 50 feet to the first ledge, and can't say how 
far to the second. The waters are perfectly transparent. 
When we floated over its bosom of rolling waters in our 
Indian canoe, we felt as though we were floating in the 
skies. This is one of the wonders of the land. Now we 
must remember that these rivers, lakes and springs, yes, 
and the creeks and branches too, are all teaming with fish 
of all sizes and species, — the bream, shell-crackers, the 
speckled fish, fresh water trout, and we must not forget 
the white sucker, that is equal in flavor to any shad that 
swims in the Peedee of our State, or in the Oconee in 
Georgia. And there are ever so many other varieties of 
table fish. I was astonished at the large sturgeons and 
mammoth alligators or crocadiles. There seemed to be 
a plenty of reptiles, the sly moccasin and bold rattler, 
but they seemed to be willing to give us the right of 
way. Now, as to the birds that fly in the air and roost in 
the trees, for beauty, variety and song, these surpass any 
description I can give. The woods are filled with their 
melody day and night. The game birds move around in 



The Lotus Land. 33 

bevies or flocks. At night the happy mocker, perched up 
on the highest Hmb, leads the chorus for the night, the 
whip-poor-will in the distance chimes in with its plain- 
tive lays, while the horned owl from the swamp joins in 
with his deep bass voice, joining in the chorus with the 
other birds. The dawn is ushered in by the strutting 
gobbler, with his commanding" voice, answered by the 
deep baritone voice of the long-legged and long-necked 
sand-hill-crane, that ever keeps watch around the ponds 
and lakes ; and the co-mingling of these voices which 
sounds at one time like distant thunder, but in the main 
very much like the voice of our long-eared animal in 
one of his merriest moods. This morning song of dis- 
cord awakens all animate nature to action, and as the 
sun steps up the steeps of the skies and throws its golden 
rays athwart the land, the heavens are filled with a 
stream of melody and love by the merry songsters — the 
lark mounting up the heights, while the merry mocker is 
still on hand as the sweetest singer. There are ferocious 
animals that roam over these woods with daring pride, — 
the great black bear, the sly wolf, the prowling panther, 
and the saucy catamount, and its cousin the wild cat. The 
Indians do not seem to mind these, they have no domes- 
tic animals for them to prey upon, so they say, "They 
do not bother us, and we will let them go." The game or 
food animals are plentiful, the deer, the squirrel, the 
o'possum, and the coon. I saw deer feeding together 
there in companies of fives, tens, and as many as twenty 
in a drove, like droves of cattle in our pastures. On our 
approach, to see them bound over the hills and plains 
with their white tails thrown over their backs, to me, this 
was the prettiest sight I saw on the trip. There is no 
monotony along these creeks and rivers, the lakes or the 



34 History of Walton County. 

springs. And the monotony of the plains and ridges is 
broken by the presence of these wild beasts and singing 
birds. There are only two approaches opened to this 
country, a land approach from the north, through which 
I went and came, the other by water, a commercial ap- 
proach from the south. This water way opens up a mar- 
ket that is one hundred miles to the west. I made this 
trip with my Indian friends and I am not ready to give 
you a description of its beauty and grandeur along the 
water courses that we passed through. It is enough to 
say here that I was pleased with both the trip, the men 
and market of Pensacola. Now, there are families and 
small tribes of these friendly Indians scattered all up and 
down the Euchee Valley, and all over the country by the 
water courses. There is a small tribe camping at that 
gem of a mountain, the very antipodes of that gem of a 
round lake — beauty in loftiness of height from the valley 
— beauty in lowliness of depth from the hill — beauty in 
sand — beauty in water. This mountain looming up from 
the valley, like Pikes Peak from the back-bone of the 
Rockies. (?) stands there as a monument and guide for 
the lone Indian. And while it lifts up its awful form (?) 
toward the clouds ; at its base runs one of the sweetest 
murmuring little rivers, equal in beauty to old Scotia's 
Bonnie Doon. This mountain is nine miles southwest 
of the round lake and is called by the natives "Sandy 
Mountain." Then too, Sam Story has a station at what 
he calls Rock Hill, used sometimes as his headquarters. 
There is a packed circle there for their green corn dance. 
This station is kept by quite an intelligent little tribe of 
Indians (let me say by way of parenthesis that Mr. F. Q. 
Tervin has now a trough dug out of one of the large 
boulders on this hill in front of his well, usinsr it for 



The Lotus Land. 35 

watering purposes, which he says he hauled from Sam 
Story's camp, in which he fed his little Indian ponies 
more than a century ago. He has every reason to be- 
lieve that it will last for centuries to come, as it doesn't 
seem to be any the worse for wear through the ages past. 
It is a complete unique trough. From this same hill my 
father took rock to build his furnaces to boil sugar cane 
juice into syrup ; and on one occasion when he was break- 
ing them up into suitable pieces to be worked, he gave 
with his sledge hammer, a three foot square boulder, a 
blow that split it centerly through, and in the very cen- 
ter there was found a good sized frog in a home that 
conformed to his size and shape, and it was as slick as 
and of the color of slate. The rend did not disturb his 
house any more than opening a pair of bullet molds dis- 
turbed the bed of the bullet. It was like putting the two 
palms of your hand together and separating them, — the 
hollow is still the same in each hand. There was a red 
streak that ran straight through the rock and it was 
through this the rend was made. These bits of rock 
were kept on exhibition for a number of years. It must 
be remembered that these boulders are what we call sand 
rock. We have read of Shakespeare's toad living on the 
"vapors of a dungeon," but never before nor since, did 
we see or hear of a frog living for ages in the center of a 
three foot boulder on vapor or anything else. This was 
certainly a strange freak of nature, and we leave it for 
the scientists to explain.) Now, you see, we have a land 
with light, sandy soil, gray mold, and stifif river swamp 
lands. We can have a country with caves and natural 
bridges, with valleys and plains, with hills and moun- 
tains, a country abounding with game, birds and food 
animals, a country whose streams abound in the great- 



36 History of Walton County. 

est varieties of fish, a country whose climate and health 
are not surpassed by any on the globe, a country whose 
aborigines live by the chase and are not thrifty in field 
work, yet, who are pacific, kind and obliging. Now, 
what more can we hope for in a country? You say you 
can but be pleased with the topography — with the con- 
tour of the land, with the soil and the water, with the 
climate and health. Then you say, 'you have heard so 
much about the treachery and revenge of the Indian that 
you can't see how you could feel safe in that pent up 
home with them.' And you say, 'you would not be sur- 
prised at any time to learn that they have massacred the 
whole McLendon party.' Nine times out of ten the 
treachery and revenge has its birth in the minds and 
hearts of the white man. This is true in the settling of 
the colonies and in our states today. I verily believe that 
if we treat these Euchee Indians right, we will be treated 
fairly by them. But you see this big Indian is still in the 
way. he is the "lion in the way." 'Shall we go or shall we 
not?' This was the question for weeks and months and 
years, until several years had passed away. During these 
unsettled 3'ears Colonel McKinnon went once each year 
to look after his interest in the Florida country, staying 
from six to eight months at a time with his friends. So 
the way became quite familiar to him and Jack. And on 
every return he was better pleased. And during these 
Waiting years, George had, with what help he gave him, 
while on his visits, gotten ready quite a comfortable home 
for his family and a good sized field for his bread, and he 
began to feel pretty independent on that line. On these 
visits he always found his friends, especially the ladies, 
anxious to meet him and learn of their kin and friends in 
the old State. "When will they make the break and 



The Lotus Land. 37 

come?" They were so lonely! But as the years passed, 
and they became better fixed up in their new homes, the 
loneliness passed away and they were becoming more and 
more satisfied. On the Colonel's second trip to Florida, he 
fell in by the way with two parties who had heard of his 
report of the new country and were seeking it, Libius 
Hunter and his nephew, Dempsey Jones, from Newburn, 
North Carolina. These came to the Colonel's home in 
North Carolina, expecting to go with him on his second 
trip, but he had left before they got there. His young 
wife told them that he would be detained on business at 
a certain place in Georgia and they might overtake him 
there. They went and found him, and they came on the 
way together. These men were pleased and well re- 
ceived by the settlers. When the Colonel returned they 
remained prospecting. 

They selected lands at the very head of the Valley. 
They returned to North Carolina and came again with 
their families and made good settlers. 



38 History of Walton County. 



Chapter IV. 

Col. McKinnon's Last Visit Before Moving Family. 

On the Colonel's last visit to the new home, just be- 
fore he brought his family, on arriving, he found George 
in trouble. A white tramp squatter, — an uninvited guest, 
found his way in and went to the field where George was 
clearing land, and drove him away, telling him he was 
nothing but a negro and must get out of there. George 
explained to him that he was doing this work for, and 
by the direction of his master, who was in North Caro- 
lina, that he would soon come with his family. He used 
ugly words, told him to get out and leave the country. 
George reported to McLendon and he said to him "You 
just wait a few days and your master will come and at- 
tend to him." The Colonel came and took in the situa- 
tion. The next morning he sent George to work in the 
field and said to him, "if Williamson comes to stop you, 
tell him that I have come, and if he orders you away, you 
leave without saying anything to him." George soon re- 
turned and reported that Williamson met him with his 
gun and told him if he found him on that place again he 
would shoot him. The Colonel, with his long Buchanan 
rifle on his shoulder, and George with his ax, went to the 
field and there was Williamson at work on the land. 

George said, "Master walked up to him quietly and 
asked, 'Is this Williamson?' He said 'Yes, this is me.' 

'What are you doing here?' 'I am clearing up land 
to make bread.' 'Don't you know you have no rights 
in here?' 'I know that I have,' replied Williamson with 
emphasis. 'You know you haven't any rights in this 



The Lotus Land. 39 

field, neither has such a scoundrel as you any place in 
this land, so leave at once.' " Williamson jumped for his 
gun, George said, "When he turned around with it in 
his hand, master had his all ready to shoot, and he was 
looking Williamson straight in the face, and was looking 
daggers at him too, and he said 'Williamson, don't you 
raise that gun another inch. Turn your back now and 
walk off, and if you look back while you are in my sight 
I will put a bullet in you, and you must leave this coun- 
try too. " George said "Dem big blue eyes of master's 
told him he mean juss what he said, and he went, and 
was no fool needer, like Mr. Lott's wife." Williamson 
was seen no more in that country, and the settlers 
thought it a good get-away. Now, it was Uncle George 
that told me this, he told it to all of us children lots of 
times, and he would say, "Now if you chilurns don't be- 
lieve this to be juss like dis nigger tell you, juss go and 
ask old massa and he will say, that nigger tells the 
truth." Our father never did mention this incident to any 
of us. When I had grown to be a pretty big sized boy, 
I asked him if he didn't like to kill a man by the name 
of Williamson, He just turned to me and said, "Who 
told you that I did?" I said "Uncle George." "George 
remembers too much." Then I said "Pa, did you ever 
have a fight?" He answered me roughly and said "No, 
fools and dogs fight." This was strange talk for me 
then, for about that age the big talk among the common 
people was about the bully, the one that could run the 
fastest, jump the farthest, and the best fighter. But as 
I grew older I could understand my father's answer to 
me, and how he now looked on the bully, — fighter. 

The Colonel spent on this trip three or four months in 
arranging home matters for the coming of his family. 



40 History of Walton County. 

He had fully made up his mind before he left them that 
they would come with him the next time. All things 
having been put in as good order as they could at that 
time, he took leave of his friends and George, with the 
understanding that when he would return his family 
would be with him. When he leached his dear ones in 
the old home, he found them active in making ready for 
the move. In a little while, quite a number of families 
were ready to go. — the ice is broken, the lion is no longer 
in the way. The emigration commenced in a fall of the 
latter twenties in caravans of five or six families moving 
together. Those that left that fall were the first to reach 
the new home and greet their anxious, waiting friends 
there. Quite a number of Scotch families in small bands 
of twos and threes, together, left at different times, one 
and two years before, but did not reach the McLendon 
party in several years afterwards. Some of them went 
too far to the west and stopped in Alabama, a good many 
of them reached the Conecuh River. Others went too 
far to the east and stopped in Georgia, some of them 
getting as far down as the Chipola River in Florida, but 
the most of these came on in two or three years after- 
wards, bringing others from these States with them. 
The emigration spirit was astir in South Carolina too, 
and many families came with, or about, the time of those 
from North Carolina. These emigrants were from six 
to ten weeks on the way, much depending on the weather 
and trouble by the way. Now, the way opened, the ball 
put in motion, emigrants from these States roll into 
Walton County by families, bands, troops, and cara- 
vans, for several years, and we may say the emigration 
from these states continued, more or less, diminishing in 
the latter days as the years rolled by, up to the Civil War. 



The Lotus Land. 41 

We had some to come to us by way of Pensacola direct 
from Scotland. We have prepared a list, as best we 
could, giving names of families in the order of time in 
which they came. It is impossible to give the exact date 
of so many emigratings, but we can come pretty near this 
order of coming. In running over this list let it be re- 
membered that there are a great many families of the 
same name related to each other, and others who are no 
kin, that came at different times. Sometimes the father 
and family would precede the son and family two or 
three years, and vice versa. And then there would be 
those of the same name no kin at all, and from different 
States with a difference of several years in coming. 
Hence, the cause for a repetition of the same names. 
We insert this list here, not thinking that it will be of 
interest to the general reader, but will be to the descend- 
ants of the pioneers. 

The list of the Pioneer Families in the Order of their 
Coming to Walton County. 

The McLendons The McSweens 

The Campbells The Andersons 

The Folks The Albins 

The McKinnons The McCaskills 

The George (colored) The McGilberries 

The Hunters The Ramseys 

The Joneses The McQuaigs 
The McCarters 

The Hendersons The Mallets 

The McLeans The Robinsons 

The McDonalds The McCallums 

The McKenzies The Rectors 

The Purcils The McLeans 



42 



History of Walton County. 



The McLeods 
The Pippins 
The Gillises 
The Gunns 
The Caswells 
The Douglasses 
The Evanses 
The Mclvers 
The Howells 
The McRaes 
The Crawfords 
The McPhersons 
The Scotts 
The Neals 
The Walkers 

The Moores 
The McCarters 
The Hatchers 
The Mclnnis 
The McGinnis 
The Johnsons 
The McCulloughs 
The McSwains 
The Monroes 
The Andrews 
The McCoys 
The Kings 
The Tuckers 
The McCrimmon^ 
The Bowers I J'/f 
The Robinsons 
The Landrums 



The Fishers 
The Broxtons 
The Vaughns 

The Koonces 
The Coles 
The Reddicks 
The Crawfords 
The Tyners 
The Bullards 
The Oates 
The McKinnons 
The Johnsons 
The Hendersons 
The Biggs 
The Meigs 
The Harts 
The Wards 
The McRaes 
The Clarys 
The McCranies 
The McLendons 
The Smiths 
The Johnsons 
The Edges 

The Lees 
The Coonces 
The Harrisons 
The Bells 
The Berrys 
The Millers 
The Crofts 



The Lotus Land. 



43 



The Turners 
The Brooks 
The Grices 
The Gaanies 
The McFarlands 
The Chamberlains 
The Tervins 
The Cawthons 

The Flurnoys 
The Cockrofts 
The Youngs 
The Claries 
The Brownells 
The Hunts 
The Infingers 
The Geoghagans 
The Browns 
The Wrights 
The Coleys 
The Parishes 
The Kitrells 



The Stanleys 
The Oglesbys 
The McFaddins 
The Wards 
The Andrews 

The Blounts 
The Watsons 
The McKenzies 
The Henrys 
The Crawfords 
The Seamans 
The Smileys 
The Seamons 
The Newtons 
The McMillans 
The Cooks 
The Gales 
The Lewises 
The Branans 
The Carrols 



Where They Settled. 

Euchee Valley proper is twenty-five miles long and 
will average twelve miles wide. It commences a little 
to the southwest of the town of Euchee Anna, on Bruce 
Creek, at the foot of the Red Hill, and takes in all the 
rich lands down along either side of that creek and ex- 
tending six or eight miles up the mouth of White and 
Big Sandy Creeks, and northward as far out as to what is 
known as the Ridge, and eastward as far as Douglass' 



44 History of Walton County. 

Ferry. The rich lands of Mossy Bend belong in this 
valley, but they are generally spoken of as separate and 
distinct lands. 

All of these Scotch pioneers that came from the sev- 
eral states settled in and along this valley. Allen Mc- 
Kinnon, cousin of Colonel McKinnon and the McLen- 
dons, settled in that part of Walton that was given to 
make Santa Rosa County, and raised a large interesting 
family of boys and girls who are now living near that 
section with nice families and in good business. The 
Landrums and Fishers settled first in the Valley then in 
Milton, and then the Landrums returned to the Valley. 
Some of the Monroes too, went to Milton. The Mc- 
Quaigs, some of the Gillises, Neals, Morrisons, McCal- 
lums, Vaughns, Brownells, Oates, Broxtons, Hunts, Geo- 
ghagans, McKenzies, some of the McLendons, Hunters, 
some of the Millers, Smiths, Parishes, Stanleys, McFad- 
dins, Turners, Kerlees, Kitrells, Oglesbys, Carrols, An- 
drews, Neils, Watsons, Albins, settled in that part of the 
County given to make Holmes County. Some of the 
Andersons, McQuaigs, McLeods, Bowerses, Caswells, 
Evanses, Ramseys, Howells, Wrights, Branans, McCoys, 
Browns, Caries, Infingers, settled on Alaqua Creeks. 

The Mallets, Rutans, Hatchers, Harrisons, some of the 
Crawfords, Youngs, Stanleys, Millers, Rooks, Berries, 
Crofts, Harrisons, Wards, McCulloughs, Reddicks, 
Davises, settled on the Choctawhatchie River and bay 
country near Freeport. 

The Cawthons, McSwains, Harts, Woods, Meigs, some 
of the McCaskills, McCrimmons, Cockrofts, some of the 
Eddies, Steeles, Claries, Wrights, McCranies, settled on 
Yellow and Shoal Rivers. 

Of the above list of families settled in their homes, all 



The Lotus Land. 45 

of the Macks, and five-sixths of the others, are either 
Scotch or Scotch Irish, as you may discern from their 
names. 

Now, these are the families, and of these, in the order 
of their coming, are the pioneers that came to Walton in 
and between the years A. D. 1830 and 1860, the com- 
mencement of our Civil War. And these are the fami- 
lies too, together with those who came since, to be listed 
later, that had more or less to do with the making of 
Walton County history. It can not be said in truth of 
them "They left their country for their country's good." 
They were of the very highest type of manhood and 
womanhood, with but few exceptions, — the uninvited 
ones. It is hard in grouping men to have all good, and 
to fail to mention both the good and the bad would make 
an incorrect, partial history. 

Among those families that settled in the Valley, there 
were two Douglasses, five Campbells, six McDonalds, 
five McLeans, four McCaskills, and there is hardly a 
name in the list, that makes up the Scotch pioneers, that 
was not represented by from three to six families ; and 
these families raised up many sons and daughters to call 
them blessed. And as the generations go by, these sons 
and daughters are raising up children in numbers to the 
perfect satisfaction of the Rooseveltian ideal. 

These pioneers are here in the new land, ready to build 
up new homes. They come from a highly civilized coun- 
try, and as a rule are educated, some well educated, as 
indicated by the well bound Latin and Greek lexicons 
and classic books that grace the libraries of their descend- 
ants. Every family brought their English and Scotch 
bible, and an alter is erected in every home. 

Many of them brought colored slaves of the highest 



46 History of Walton County. 

type of the negro. They brought no domestic animal 
save the dog, the cat, the mule, and the horse that pulled 
the vehicles that brought their moving and themselves. 
Their weapons were the long Buchanan rifle, made by a 
man by that name in the country from which they came. 
Every man was armed with one of these, — muzzle load- 
ers of course. 

Here they are with the plow, the ax, the spade, and 
the saw to build homes and prepare farm lands and to 
open up a new civilization in the very midst of friendly 
aborigines. Here they are in the midst of nature's 
boundless resources, in streams, in forests, in soil, in 
grasses, in game, and in climate. Now the burning 
question is, while they come seeking to develop the re- 
sources of this land, will they look wisely to their con- 
servation? Will they do both? Can they develop the 
dormant resources and conserve them too? These are 
economical questions to be considered. The aborigines 
gave them wonderful lessons in conserving. They handed 
down to them natural resources that they had kept 
intact, untarnished through the ages past, and these too, 
growing better and better as the years roll on. What 
lessons from the unlettered nations to the learned comers, 
fresh from the heart of civilization ! Will they give heed? 
The sequel in the years to come must tell the story. Can 
you find, can you imagine, a colony settling in any coun- 
try under more favorable auspices than those now being 
located in this favored land? With forests abounding in 
magnificent stately trees of many varieties, types of the 
frigid and types of the torrid in this mild mid region, 
mingling their foliage together. The lofty pines with 
their acetalious foliage, as so many eolian harps, making 
music with the winds. The great spreading oak with 



The Lotus Land. 47 

its acorn food, the elastic hickory and its species with 
their meat food. The beech and its cousins with their 
rich masts, the persimmon with its delicious fruits; the 
tupelo gum, the poplars, the cedars, the great magnolias 
with their palm shaped leaves in green, and blossoms of 
white, filling the air with their odors, — trees of ever so 
many varieties, trees furnishing the best wood for build- 
ing, for furniture, for wares, and for ornamental work, 
trees for home and foreign commercial purposes; and 
streams of water to move them on, or for power to manu- 
facture them by. The vines entangling the wild woods, 
teeming with many varieties of juicy fruits, the berry, 
black, blue, red and purple, inviting from limb and bush ; 
the game cantering over the hills in every direction; the 
birds of every feather filling the air with music, making 
all around gladsome; the rich grasses that carpet the 
earth, and tender cane inviting domestic animals to come 
and feed on them. What an overflow of nature, resting 
as it were in a mother's arms of protection ! Then too, 
here is a good open, commercial highway, a water way, 
a protected inland way, God's way ; and while it is a very 
much watered commercial way, it is and will remain as 
free as air, to the poor, as well as to the rich, as long as 
the stars stand. Through this pleasant, beautiful way, 
the delvers in this goodly land can transport by sail or 
stream their produce in unlimited quantities, with but 
little cost as long as time shall last. Through the many, 
many months and years that I steamed up and down 
through this inland waterway, I never passed through it 
without being reminded of God's goodness in providing 
such a cheap convenient, commercial way, especially for 
the poor of our country, to go up and down in almost 
perfect safety in their little gondolas and market sailing 



48 History of Walton County. 

boats. We passed over the bosom of these waters in the 
bright, calm days, in the dark fearful nights, when the 
lightnings flashed all about us, and the thunders spoke 
in sullen wrath, while the old ocean through the Mexican 
Gulf rolled her mad mountain waves, one after another, as 
though they were coming to destroy us, and either one 
of them, if they had been able to reach us, could have 
swallowed us in a moment. But that little strip of 
white sandy land a little bit above sea level, in some 
places not more than a quarter of a mile wide, but 
stretching sixty miles down the coast to Fort Pickens 
(Santa Rosa Island) the workmanship of God's hand, 
spoke to them, "Thus far shalt thou come and no far- 
ther." So they had to pour out their wrath there, lash- 
ing and beating the white shores, while we glided on in 
quiet peace and perfect safety. In making this trip one 
can but be reminded of God's love of beauty, for here you 
will have one of the most picturesque scenes in all nature. 
Senator C. W. Jones, returning from Washington City 
came this route on his way to Pensacola. He got on 
board the steamer "C. Fisher" at Freeport, Florida. We 
passed along down through the bay, came along by the 
side of this beautiful island, crossed over the bar and were 
in what is known as the Narrows. It was a bright clear 
sunshiny day, and the wind was high. He and I were 
on the hurricane deck of the steamer Fischer where we 
had a splendid view of all the surroundings ; on our right 
was the main land with the genuine old live-oak, with 
their reaching limbs bending in every direction ; there too 
was the great magnolia dressed in velvet green, with its 
white blossoms as so many white birds perched on its 
limbs to rest ; the Narrows that we were floating in with 
its transparent waters, showing us the sandy bottom of 



The Lotus Land. 49 

the crooked channel, was not more than one quarter of 
a mile wide; then comes the island on our left with the 
tops of its white mounds thatched over with green scrub 
live-oak; on the other side of this island was the great 
Gulf rolling up its waves breaking on the shores. As 
we steamed on, the Senator drank in the beauty in 
silence ; presently the channel lead us along close by the 
island, to what is known as the "Ladies' Walk," the most 
beautiful spot on the island, long hills or ridges with 
valleys between, leading towards the Gulf; these are as 
white as the drifted snow, and not a sprig of any living 
vegetation about them. At this moment the sun was 
going down, brightening up the West, with its golden 
beauty ; as it cast its soft shadows over these white ridges 
and valleys, making one of the most charming pictures 
in nature. The Senator could keep silent no longer. He 
exclaimed, "Is it possible that I have been living in Pen- 
sacola all these years and never knew of this grandeur 
in beauty? I have just been up the St. Johns River into 
Indian River and never saw such grandeur in nature as 
I see here. True, its broad waters were grand, and its 
banks teaming with the golden fruit, but you can't have 
such a panoramic view as this. You can't take in at a 
glance such varieties, such effulgence in beauty as we 
have now before us. It is the pen that has made the St. 
Johns what it is, and I prophesy a day when these shores 
will be teaming with wealthy beauty lovers." I have 
always felt that if there be one that passes through this 
inland waterway and is not moved to feel that God is 
good — God is power — God is wisdom — that one must be 
oblivious to His attributes. 

The new settlers have not only this splendid commer- 
cial waterway, but they have navigable rivers on either 



50 History of Walton County. 

side and between, running southward into this water- 
way; and their southern shores are indented with navi- 
gable bays and bayous and mouths of creeks or lagoons 
that run well up into the interior through which they can 
float in boats their products, to get on this high water- 
way that leads so direct to the commercial city of Pensa- 
cola. There were no Internal Improvement Acts, or 
river and harbor bills reaching down this way by which 
these rivers could be opened up for navigation; nor was 
there any need for their being better than nature had left 
them, for the kind of boats they had to use for naviga- 
tion. The whistle of the steamboat had never been heard 
in all these waters, and they are settled convenient to the 
already open streams. 

Neither was the sound of the iron horse, that great 
civilizer, the railroad engine, heard rattling through 
these woods, for there was no need of its work. These 
pioneers demonstrated years ago in their commercial in- 
tercourse with the world, through these waterways, that 
God-made roads were better than man-made roads. But 
it seems that it was not until today that the world is ap- 
preciating this great fact. This grave truth was clearly 
demonstrated in that great National conference called to 
meet at the White House by President Roosevelt, which 
was the outgrowth of the recommendation of the Inland 
Waterways Commission, that he had appointed the year 
before, a convention to consider the question of the con- 
servation of the country's natural resources. To this 
conference there came by invitation the Governors and 
their conferees, the Captains of Industry as represented 
by such men as Andrew Carnegie, the Iron Master, 
James J. Hill the genius of railway expansion, John 
Mitchell, labor leader, and Dr. I. C. White, geologist; 



The Lotus Land. 51 

the Senators and Representatives in Congress; the Su- 
preme Court, the Cabinet, and of course the Inland 
Waterways Commission ; and the specially invited guests 
that included such statesman as Bryan, Johnson, and 
Judge Gray. The coming together of these representa- 
tive men for conference made it National in a peculiar 
sense. And we believe that its results will show that it 
was the initiative of the greatest good to our nation. 
And that the good results will carry down with them 
through the coming years, the shining name of President 
Roosevelt as a great benefactor to our nation, in com- 
merce, as well as in peace and war. It was clearly 
brought out in this conference that there was an un- 
called for prodigality in our natural resources, which are 
our national resources; that railroad transportation had 
become too expensive, burdensome, and wasteful in 
natural resources, even in transporting its own material 
for constructive and repairing, and that a cheaper water- 
way must be provided to conserve the rapidly failing re- 
sources in timber, coal, and oil for building and fuel pur- 
poses. They tell us that in Washington's time there was 
a conference something like this called, and by his in- 
fluence an Interstate Waterways Commission was ap- 
pointed by Virginia and Maryland to consider interstate 
commerce by the only means then available, that of 
water ; and when the representatives of all the states met 
in Philadelphia for what was in its original conception, 
merely a waterways conference, yet when they had 
closed their deliberations the outcome was the Constitu- 
tion which made the States into a Nation. We hope 
this conference will finally result in the canalization of 
our whole country from the Lakes to the Gulf, from 
Ocean to Ocean, in the speedy opening of the great in- 



52 History of Walton County. 

land waterways on our eastern and southern coast, and 
the one down the Mississippi Valley that they propose, 
and prove to the world that God's roads are better than 
man's. This work accomplished as proposed, then will 
the generations of today see as these pioneers proved, 
that they never did need in Walton any transportation 
other than our waterways improved. 

Surely these early pioneers, settled down in this Uto- 
pian land with such rich natural resources handed down 
to them from these primitive peoples, ought to have been 
contented and have gone to work with a right good will. 
And they did. The ring of the ax is heard in every set- 
tlement. Comfortable homes are built; fields are cleared, 
and fences built, for they saw that it would not do for 
them to let all this good range go without domesticated 
animals to feed on them, to bring in revenue. So the 
families sent out their best traders to go here and there, 
some back to North Carolina, some to Alabama, and 
others to Georgia, to procure range stock. And soon the 
low of the cow, the bleat of the sheep, and the squeal of 
the hog were answering back to the yawn of the cat. the 
crow of the rooster, the neigh of the horse, and the bark 
of the dog; all these bringing the hoot of the owl, the 
bark of the fox, and the doleful howl of the wolf, just 
over the hills. The ones that succeeded in bringing the 
most and best cattle were the ones that were soonest the 
owners of big stocks. There was but one thing in the 
way of rapid increase, and that was keeping the savage, 
wild beast from taking them, as will be shown later. 

It was interesting to hear these first settlers tell how 
they got their start in stock. The most of them paid 
i"onev. others gave an old horse or mule which brought 
them out and had no use for. in a while ; others gave dried 



The Lotus Land. 53 

and buffed deer skins, while others gave tame fowls ; and 
some gave their rifles, trusting to get others soon. The 
pioneers who came later, as a rule, brought some stock 
with them. 

In a few years time, these pioneers made quite a lot 
of improvements in the way of making homes and farms. 
The lands were productive and responded to their energy. 
Bread food and vegetables were the main things that 
occupied their minds in the way of products. For many 
years there was not the least trouble for the one who 
had a rifle and knew how to shoot straight, to get what 
meat he neeed out of the wild woods. They soon im- 
ported the sugar cane, which they learned was indigenous 
to this soil and clime. They ground out the juice with 
home-made rollers made of the hardest wood, principally 
the live oak. These were to be found all along through 
the Valley, three or four small families owning the out- 
fit together. One of these mills was located in Mossy 
Bend by an excellent spring in an oak and hickory grove ; 
they did all the grinding for all those who lived in the 
Bend for thirty years, grinding for not less than that 
many families. They would commence grinding in Octo- 
ber and grind until Christmas. This, as were the others, 
was a great resort for the young people to spend their 
evenings, exchange jokes, swap knives, play games, have 
candy-pullings, and court sweethearts. Many happy 
matches were made around these cane mills under the 
soft light of the autumn moon. And it is delightful to 
know that these sugar-mill meetings are still enjoyed to 
some extent by the youth of Walton today. So accommo- 
dating and congenial were these neighbors, that there 
was never a jar in their work. The only rivalry was to 
see who could get the most young people to come the 



54 History of Walton County. 

week they were grinding, to have the most fun. They 
observed their turn to grind as sytematically as the mill 
boy takes his turn today for his grist. These mills keyed 
up close enough to press the juice from the cane, despite 
all the lubricating oij that you could apply, would make 
a squealing noise that could be heard for miles. This, 
no doubt, was grating on the delicate aged ears, but let 
me tell you of a truth, it was sweet, sweet music to the 
anxious ears of the young peoples, who longed for its 
coming in the bright October month. Those who 
longed at first for the sweet Cider pressed from the juicy 
apples in the old State, soon found more than a substi- 
tute in the cold juice from the cane. This juice, in the 
early years, was evaporated, or boiled, in the common 
dinner and wash pots, into a syrup and sugar. As the 
years passed on. there were great improvements, both in 
mill and kettles. The three-roller cast iron mill took the 
place of the two-roller, and the eighty and hundred gallon 
flared kettle took the place of the dinner and wash pots. 
For some time the simple hand-turned mills and the In- 
dian hand mortars were used to grind their corn into 
meal — a stationary bed rock of f^int. eighteen inches in 
diameter, a runner of the same dimensions, with an 
aperture in center for corn to drop through, fastened 
directly above, so that it could be raised up and down as 
the meal needed to be coarse or fine. This runner was 
manipulated by a wooden rod fastened above and placed 
in a small hole near its edge, and the Indian squaws 
would sit down and turn this upper rock around and 
around by means of this pole, and make good meal. 

It was but a little while before this people saw that 
they must have clothing other than the skins of animals 
to wear, — these, they thought, were too much out of the 



The Lotus Land. 55 

line of civilization. They cleared up cotton patches and 
put in the seed and soon learned that they could grow 
cotton of a better fibre than that of the old State. The 
most of them brought with them their "Scotch spinning 
jennies," and the large rimmed spinning wheel was 
brought in, and the old time loom, and they soon had 
clothes of their own making to wear. There was no way 
of separating the seed from the cotton but by the fingers, 
and this was the work of the long evenings and of the old 
Scotch women. 



56 History of Walton County. 



Chapter V. 

The First Gin, Grist and Saw Mill. 

In the early thirties, Colonel McKinnon built a cotton 
gin to run by water power on a stream near his home, — 
the first that was built in Walton, — and had a grist mill 
attached. These mills did good work for the people for 
a number of years. The dam that held the water that 
moved the machinery is still intact and as firm as the 
hills. He never tried to keep these mills up after the 
War, after his negroes were freed. A man by the name 
of Albin built a grist mill on a larger creek one and one- 
half miles west of the "Old Place," but it didn't amount 
to much, it was too poorly constructed for the stream 
that it was on, and it was soon gone. 

In a little while afterwards Alexander McLeod, father 
of our County Judge, D. G. McLeod, got Allen McKin- 
non of Santa Rosa County to come and build a saw mill 
to manufacture lumber on the same stream and just be- 
low the Albin mill. It was a substantial piece of work 
and stood for years. This was the first saw mill in Wal- 
ton County. It was an upright saw. This took the 
place of the hand rip-saw, where one man stood in the 
ditch below and the other one on a scaflFold above, pull- 
ing the saw up and down through the log by main 
strength and awkwardness. There was a good grist 
mill attached, and this enterprise was a great financial 
success in the new country. 

The pioneers begin now to build for themselves better 
houses. Frame houses began to take the place of the 
round log buildings. At one time this plant was a little 



The: Lotus Land. 57 

gold mine. In the fifties Colonel McKinnon bought this 
plant and gave $4,000.00 in gold for it ; this was a round 
price for it, but everything seemed to be on a boom then. 
After the war he sold it for less than half that amount, 
and I suppose it could be bought today for less than half 
that amount. 

A More Definite Settling of Some of the Earliest Scotch. 

We have already seen that Neil McLendon settled at 
the first by Sam Story in his summer quarters near the 
"Old Place." When the Chief moved to his winter quar- 
ters, near his landing in Mossy Bend, Neil McLendon 
moved down near him, out on the ridge where his brother 
Lochlin settled at the first. It was near what is known 
as the Cross-roads, not far from the church and grave- 
yard. He remained here as long as he lived in Florida. 
He left the home he moved from all to his brother Loch- 
lin. John Folks settled down on Bruce Creek about half 
way between the two brothers. Daniel D. Campbell 
married Nancy McLean in February, 1828, — their license 
is extant today, — and he settled in the Valley near 
Euchee Anna, where he lived all his days in happiness 
and peace, and raised a large family of boys and girls. 
Colonel McKinnon lived all his days on the "Old Place." 
He called the hill on which he built "Pleasant Hill." 
The Indian field and George's clearing gave it the name 
of "Old Place." He became the owner of all the lands 
that the Chief and the McLendons claimed and raised a 
large family of girls and boys all to be grown. In all the 
years of his life, he never entertained for a moment the 
thought of a move. What capital in contentment to be- 
gin with ! When he was being raided upon in the latter 
years of the war, his son and friends came and insisted 



58 History o^ Walton County. 

that he would move up into Alabama, away from the 
raiders. He answered in the most positive tones, "No, 
not as long as there is a shirt left on my back. I worked 
for and paid for this place, — I fought for it, and if there 
is a spot on this green earth that I have a right to stay 
on, it is this, and I am going to stay right here." And, 
of course, he did, and was about as well off as those who 
refugeed to Alabama. Angus McDonald, who married 
Mary Anderson here, came from South Carolina, by way 
of Conecuh River, after stopping there several years with 
his father and other relatives, came and settled near the 
Valley Church, then moved near Euchee Anna, and then 
to Mossy Bend, where he lived until his death. His 
brother Peter settled near Knox Hill. Their father came 
to see them from Conecuh in 1850 and died while on a 
visit at his son Peter's, and was buried at the Valley 
Church. Alexander McCaskill settled just east of the 
Valley Church. After his death, Finley McCaskill, his 
son, (called 'White Finley," being an albino,) lived there 
until he died ; and Alexander L. McCaskill, a relative of 
theirs, bought the place and lived there until he died, and 
the place is now owned by Laird. Donald McLean 
(called "Baldy" on account of his bald head) settled be- 
low old Knox Hill, near Yellow Bluff. Yawn, or John 
and Lochlin McLean, and Archibald McDonald, settled 
near Euchee Anna. Daniel S. McLean (called "Chunky" 
on account of his build) settled east of Euchee Anna. 
Daniel Campbell (called "Corn Campbell" on account of 
his making such quantities of corn with his great bunch 
of negroes) lived the first year near Lake Casidy in 
Holmes County and then he bought the Dempsey Jones 
and Hunter places on the Ridge, improved them, and 
settled there. All these were settled for life in these 




ANOI^S OTLLTS. 



The^ Lotus Land. 59 

homes, and their sons and daughters, as they married, 
settled around them. Angus Gillis came out before 
these, and Hke Calonel McKinnon, he improved a home 
for himself in the rich hammock lands about the heads 
of Big Sandy Creek. He went back to North Carolina, 
married Catharine Campbell, daughter of "Corn" Camp- 
bell, and came on his bridal tour with his father-in-law 
to the new country, and lived on this place that he se- 
lected and improved, raised a large family of sons and 
daughters and stayed on that place until marriages and 
deaths reduced them to the original two, and then moved 
down to the Valley near the Church, and died at a ripe 
old age, his faithful wife soon followed, and they sleep 
side by side in the old Valley burying ground. Archi- 
bald McDonald, Daniel Robinson and Hugh McLean, 
and the McQuaigs, settled permanently near the Valley 
Church. Lochlin McDonald, the father of John K., Peter 
K. and Daniel K., settled in Mossy Bend. Alexander 
Douglass and his mother left North Carolina before 
these, but he did not get here until two years afterwards. 
He stayed on the Chipola and made a crop there, and 
then came on. He was the first emigrant that crossed 
at Douglass' Ferry, and had to stay there some time, on 
account of a swell in the river, before they could get 
him over. It was he that surveyed "that wonderful high 
water route" through which you can come in the high- 
est water from high bank to high bank on either side and 
cross the main river, floating down it from either way. 
It is really an ingenious route. He lived at the "Old 
Place" for a few years and then moved to Douglass' 
Ferry, which was named for him, he having established 
it, and made it a popular crossing place for travelers 
going East and West. He died of exhaustion, swimming^ 



160 History of Walton County. 

his cattle from reed-brake islands in the river swamp to 
high safe piney woods, during the high waters of the 
"Lincoln Freshet." 

Now we have some idea where the early settlers were 
located. Now% it has always been strange to me why 
Walton's first County site w^as for a while at Alaqua. 
It is true there were quite a lot of good people settled 
on the Alaqua Creeks on good lands, but nothing to com- 
pare with those around the Valley, and at that time it 
was a very much out of the way place, not even conveni- 
ent to the Bay people, who were but few. Judge Exam's 
home, — the first Circuit Judge — was there, and some say 
this was why it was there. In a little while it was moved 
to Euchee Anna and remained there until it was moved 
to DeFuniak Springs. 

Euchee Anna was named in honor of the Euchee In- 
dians and the grandmother of Colonel Angus D. and 
William C. McLean, Esq. She was the first white wo- 
man to live in the town. The combination makes a very 
euphonious and endearing name to many of us. The 
rich lands around are being pretty well dotted about with 
settlers. And it is strange to say that many of the best 
lands were not taken for years and years afterwards. 
Good springs had much to do in making settlements. 
Excellent families were these, or the most of them, at 
least. But coming from a country of stinted natural 
resources, many of them seemed to think and act as 
though there was no chance of lessening the abundance 
here, and without thinking, they went about like van- 
dals, slashing and destroying as they went, as though it 
were their only mission. And when advised to be more 
conservative, they thought the advice absurd and would 
remark flippantly "there will be plenty of range here 



The Lotus Land. 61 

when you and I will be sleeping in the grave," as though 
it was our only mission here to look out for ourselves. 
The great trouble was, the curse of fire turned loose, to 
destroy the rich luxurious range, which would, if they 
protected it as the aborigines did, last for genera- 
tions after generations, and fatten millions and millions 
of cattle, sheep and hogs from year to year. Then, there 
was the indiscriminate shooting down of game just to 
see them fall. The Indians took great pains in showing 
the very first comers how to protect the game, range 
and forests, and these settlers took great interest in learn- 
ing how, following their advice. They pointed out to 
them the great destruction that unbridled fire would do 
in a litle while to the range, killing the rich berries and 
the low bush sweet apples that were so nutritious to 
animal life, the deer and gopher apples ; how it would 
stunt the grass after a while and give place to worthless 
scrub oak that would soon kill out the grass altogether. 
They would tell them the best time and how to kill game 
for table use, so as not to diminish increase, but augment 
it, assuring them that the game had grown better and 
better with them, as the years passed by and never fell 
short only through disease. These earliest settlers not 
only appreciated these lessons, but showed it by going 
to work strenuously to put them into practice. They 
would often take their forces from the fields and work 
for days fighting fire, cutting it off by short cuts between 
creek and other water protections, to stop the spread and 
save the grass and rich cane along the titi branches. 
One would think when they would see such hard work 
from their earlier neighbors, this would make them more 
cautious, but with some it seemed not to move them. 
They would tell them how the aborigines had taught 



63 History of Walton County. 

them the value of the range in its natural state, and how 
they had kept it in its splendid condition, growing better 
and better all the years. But they thought it ridiculous 
that an uncivilized Indian could be capable of advising 
the civilized white man. These men would tell them 
how it would displease their Indian neighbors to see the 
game and range destroyed. All this had no effect upon 
them. The idea, the talk, of these later settlers, in re- 
gard to the conservation of nature's abundant resources 
was very displeasing to the early settlers. They had 
learned by observation and experience the value of pro- 
tecting these resources, and expostulated with these care- 
less roamers from time to time, with but little result in 
good. They felt that they had good helpful friends in 
the red man and wanted to retain them as such. They 
had shown themselves friendly and helpful in so many 
ways that they were drawn very close to them. 

The Chief had a very interesting family of sons and 
daughters far in advance of the masses, both in appear- 
ance and in intellect, and they were respected as such. 
His whole tribe of women were proverbial for their chas- 
tity, their rare virtues. His oldest son was named "Jim 
Crow," a tall agile, stately, manly fellow, dressing in the 
best prepared skins and furs of his race, gorgeously at- 
tired in the gewgaws of their own making, highly pol- 
ished shells, beads, and the richest plumes of birds, and 
all the fancy things that the races are so fond of. An- 
other son was named "Swift Hunter." His third was 
called "Sleeping Fire." His two oldest daughters were 
twins, one named "Leaping Water" the other "Quiet 
Water," and the baby daughter was called "Round 
Water." The pioneers claim that they were named re- 
spectively for the gulf waves that leaped and broke on 



The Lotus Land. 63 

Walton's southern shores, her greatest spring (Camp- 
bell's Spring) and her round spring (DeFuniak Springs) 

Jim Crow Takes a Wife. 

When Colonel McKinnon brought his family to this 
new country, his wife had quite a handsome servant girl, 
more than two thirds white blood in her; she was of 
low stature, plump build, blue eyes, of a rich dark, trans- 
parent complexion, with long coal-black hair. She was 
what was called then, an intelligent, fine looking house 
"yellow girl." Her name was Harriet. Jim Crow, the 
Indian prince, several years her senior, was smitten at 
first sight with her beauty and lively carriage around the 
home, and as the days rolled by, he became more and 
more enamored with her beauty. My father and mother 
tried to discourage his advances, fearing that such a 
union might in time result in an alienation of the good 
feeling that then existed between the red man and the 
pale face, especially of that between himself and Crow's 
father. Then, too, there was a commercial view to be 
considered in such a union. But the more they tried to 
discourage him, as is ever the case in true love, the more 
the flame kindled and the closer were they drawn to- 
gether. At first Harriet disclaimed any idea of loving 
him, and they were satisfied she spoke the truth, for she 
was not treating his advances at first in a way that 
showed even the respect that was due his kind treat- 
ment, and they felt assured that she had no real love for 
him, and that "his genuine" love was, as it were, wasted 
on the desert air, and felt relieved. But finally his manly 
appearances, his gewgaws in dress, won her to him, and 
she consented to become his wife, if her mistress and 
master would consent. He lost no time in approaching 



64 History of Walton County. 

them with his pleadings, and after deliberating over the 
matter for some little while, and consulting together in 
full view of the facts and the surroundings, they re- 
luctantly consented for her to become his wife, under 
certain well defined conditions, which he never attempted 
to overleap. He is one happy "big Indian now." He 
wanted their union to be after the manner of their tribal 
marriages, in the Chief's big tent of skins and furs. So, 
on the following Sunday they were arrayed after their 
fashion in the rich gewgaws, peculiar to their race, and 
as fantastically in every way possible. He, by his at- 
tendants, was escorted from his headquarters to that of 
the Chief's great tent which stood near Story's Land- 
ing. She, with her attendants, one of her relatives and 
his three sisters, was escorted to the same tent, where 
they met in front of it, with its walls all rolled up. Here 
they joined hands and with their attendants marched 
around the tent several times, while vocal and rude in- 
strumental music made glad, merry hearts, and as they 
passed through the pre-arranged aisle in the center of 
the great tent to the great center prop pole, there they 
separated, the bride going to the left of the pole and the 
groom to the right, and met again beyond the pole and 
stopped for a moment, side by side, with their attend- 
ants on either side. The music ceased and they two 
joined hands while the great chief pronounced a short 
ceremony in his own tongue. Then the music started 
up with joyful melody, and the two contracting parties 
jumped a broom which lay just before them, and they 
became man and wife according to the Euchee custom. 

A cottage was built for them at the end of the row of 
the neg^o quarters, not far from the home dwelling, 
where they lived together very agreeably for a good 



The Lotus Land. !65 

while. This union never interfered with her domestic 
duties in the least. My mother said she never had a 
more agreeable, a more helpful, servant around her than 
he; that he took more interest in keeping things up 
around the home than all the other help that she had; 
that he had a thoughtful mind to provide, and a generous 
heart to divide his best with others; that coming from 
the chase, her table was always provided with the best 
game, even if his had to be scant. When he was around, 
the very best fish were on her table, as often as she cared 
for them ; that he was ever respectful, honorable and 
generous, that they were far better pleased with the 
union than they had hoped to be, and instead of falling 
ofif, he became more and more agreeable all the time he 
stayed. 

He knew how to meet the negroes in the quarters. He 
was not at all too familiar with them in association. He 
realized his superiority over them and maintained it, and 
they treated him with marked deference. There was al- 
ways a marked difference observed between the house 
servants and the field hand, without much jealousy. Har- 
riet was not a regular cook, just a house-girl. Her first 
cooking was in her own home for Jim Crow. The house 
servants were taken from the better class of negroes and 
were better trained and dressed. Jim Crow was in full 
sympathy with his father and the earliest settlers in the 
conservation of the range, the forest, and its game, and 
often expressed a fear that the waste in these woods 
would necessitate a change to a newer country for his 
tribe, which he looked forward to with great dread. And 
in the course of time, as the white man's civilization 
spread in Walton, the red man's rights were trampled 
upon, ignored. It became apparent, even to the casual 



66 History of Walton County. 

observer, that there must come a change soon. And the 
question much discussed was, will they go voluntarily 
to another country, or will they, like their race has ever 
done, contend boldly for their hunting ground until their 
garments are steeped in blood, falling back from the on- 
slaught of the pale face through tracks of blood, and 
only when their ranks are so depleted that they are not 
able to make a stand? And the discussion of this ques- 
tion involved another^ — where did they come from, — who 
are they? 



The Lotus Land. 67 



Chapter VL 



The Origin of the Euchees. 

The early pioneers had learned from the Chief in the 
beginning that their fore-fathers came from the silver 
shores of Mexico long years ago, that they could not 
count. That they left on account of exterminating wars 
among the tribes there : that they got tired of blood and 
turned their backs on the bloody West and their faces 
towards the East — the rising sun — in search of peace and 
rest ; that they left those inhospitable shores in frail barks 
and coasted along the southern shores, the Great Spirit 
leading and protecting them in safety to this goodly land ; 
that they had been preceded here by a race of that same 
blood thirsty, exterminating spirit that they left in Mex- 
ico, that in the final battle here only a little handful, 
mostly women and children, of the vanquished remained 
to tell the story ; and these were soon incorporated into 
the Euchees and their identity lost. The conquerors 
that survived after burying their dead, went to the West. 

These dark red faced wanderers must have passed 
through Pensacola Bay before the tall, one eyed Panilo 
de Narvaez, Captain-General of Florida in 1528, stopped 
there with his five rudely constructed and equipped ves- 
sels from the East. This story of the aborigines was 
pleasing to those among the pioneers who loved peace 
and dreaded war. But coming from Mexico, many feared 
they might be from that great Muscogee race of Indians 
from whom sprang that bloody, revengeful, spiteful, race, 
— the Creek Nation, which was such a terror to those 
whites north of them. But their history shows that they 



68 History of Walton County. 

must have descended from one of the best lines of the 
civilized Aztecs or Toltec races, for they certainly had 
many good natural inbred traits. We really think their 
story of the ''Kilkinney Cat Fight" among the tribes that 
preceded them here is borne out in the excavations of the 
great mounds scattered through this bay country, notably 
mounds back of old Camp Walton. 

In 1861, the first year of the war, when the "Walton 
Guards" were stationed on the Narrows at Camp Wal- 
ton, we found great mounds back of the camp, thrown up 
and all covered over with great trees to their very tops, 
the live oak and water oak mostly. At first we took 
those to be natural hills, the product of some cosmical 
upheaval, but upon closer investigation we found that 
they were too uniform to be the work of a quake in the 
earth. So we went to work with ax, pick and spade to 
pry into them, clearing away the great trees and throw- 
ing off the earth from the top. We had gone but a lit- 
tle ways, say 18 inches, when we found we were enter- 
ing a great charnel house, the home of the dead. There 
lay great skeletons of men in perfect preservation, lying 
on their backs, hands crossed in front of their bodies, 
with heads towards the west and north as they crossed 
each other, and were filled in between the bodies with a 
four inch layer of preserving matter, a mixture of lime 
and some other mineral substance. These were mostly 
all giants and warriors, killed in battle, as their broken 
skulls and thighs and arms, as well as the saber cleavage 
or bludgeon shatters showed. We took the largest of 
them and set them up with wire joints and placed them 
in standing positions in a house built for the purpose, 
until it was filled, and they showed up like monsters 
stripped of flesh. 



The Lotus Land. 69 

We were struck at the wonderful preservation of their 
bones and the perfect undecayed teeth in their jaws, 
while they, through the use of years, had been worn to 
very near the jaw bone, yet they were there without de- 
cay. This preserving mixture for bones that they had 
must be a lost art. This larger mound must have been 
officers or warriors of high distinction. The lesser 
mounds did not show the heroic spirit or the gigantic 
build that was found in the larger one. 

We put the trees to their botanical test to gain a 
knowledge of the times of these heroes. While these 
trees were hoary with age, they could tell us nothing 
about the dead bodies they shaded through the day and 
kept watch over through the night. They easily proved 
an alibi by the old decayed stumps about their roots 
that had been old before their coming, and we could not 
tell how many acorns had fallen and grown up into trees 
before their day. These could tell, only of their half 
century watch, and as many years have passed since 
they have been relieved off of guard duty in the old camp. 
This largest mound must have covered over an area of 
an eighth of an acre. It was built sloping in from the 
base to the top that was flat. Its shape was something 
like the bottom segment of a great cone, twelve or four- 
teen feet high. We were very particular in taking these 
skeletons out, and took from the southern part of the 
mound, leaving the northern half undisturbed when we 
left there. After we got the building filled, we became 
careless, visitors came and plundered them for treasures 
with no thought of keeping them intact. This matter 
was well written up by the intelligence of the Walton 
Guards, to try and learn something of the history of 



70 History of Walton County. 

these wonderful warriors and their desperate battles, and 
what became of the residue. 

No Spaniards in Pensacola had ever heard of such 
giants or of such a battle in these regions. Sam Story's 
traditional report, handed down to him by his fathers and 
corroborated by what we found in these mounds, is the 
most feasible story of these skeletons, and what became of 
the residue of conquerors after they had buried their 
dead ; and of what remained of the little handful of the 
vanquished. That this exterminating battle must have 
been fought a little while before the red founders of 
Walton, the Euchees, came to these coasts : and long be- 
fore the time Panilo de Narvaez stopped in Pensacola 
Bay in 1528, is very reasonable. 

What we find in these mounds gives us a very faint 
idea of how many were slain in this battle ; where it is 
evident in the main that only the most distinguished offi- 
cers' and warriors' bodies were cared for in the mounds. 
We must understand too that the slain of the victors and 
all the slain of the vanquished or annihilated must have 
bleached and decayed on the battle fields over which they 
fought and fell, and the numbers slain in these battles 
must have run up into the thousands of thousands, for 
that bay coast is one great charnel house. This splendid 
exhibit of these skeletons of great giants, preserved as 
they were through centuries, the aborigines of our land — 
called many visitors to Camp Walton, who returned to 
their homes wondering how it was possible for the bodies 
of these dead warriors to have remained so long in our 
midst without being discovered. That exhibit today 
would be worth hundred of dollars in any museum or 
dissecting college. 

When the field batteries from Fort Pickens came up 



The Lotus Land, 71 

in the night time and parked behind the mounds on 
Santa Rosa Island, opposite our camps on the main land, 
together with the man-of-war that had been lying, at 
anchor in the gulf, opposite our station, keeping watch 
over us for months, opened up a bombardment just as our 
companies stood in line for roll call, before it was light in 
the morning, shelling us out of home, that house that 
held so many of these relics caught on fire and burned up 
with the shanty buildings. We left for Pensacola soon 
afterwards and had no time to gather up more. The 
United States Army men came and dug up more and 
wrote up the whole matter, but there was too much on 
hand for either of us to ferret out any intelligence at that 
time, so the effort perished. 



72 History of Walton County. 



Chapter VII. 

A Council Called by Neill McLcndon and the Chief. 

In the early thirties it was evident that Sam Story 
was becoming uneasy and troubled about the way the 
new comers were treating the forest and game in his dear 
old hunting grounds and that Neill McLendon was in 
full sympathy with him in this matter. They called a 
council to consult as to some course to pursue, to which 
Colonel McKinnon and several of the very first settlers 
were invited. The old Chief was the principal speaker 
and it was straight talk, great brains speaking through 
an honest, loving heart, to old proven friends, and with 
a purpose of winning or helping new ones. He said "We 
have spoken often one with another about the way the 
late comers recklessly and without benefit to themselves, 
tear up and destroy our beautiful hunting grounds and 
cruelly shoot down the game, not for food, but for fun, as 
they say, and leave them to decay on the hills. They 
give no thought to the season or conditions of the game 
when they take them. They would as readily shoot 
down a young doe just coming in, as an old one, or a 
young thrifty buck as an aged old stag, full of sweet firm 
meat, softer to be jerked for market or stowed for winter 
use or travel. I saw two of these hunters coming up 
from the bay with two large hams and the skin of a 
great stag; they said they left the balance in the woods, 
they did not care to fetch it so far as they could get 
plenty nearer home; that they killed it mainly for the 
hide. It is the same with other game. Some of them 
readily shoot down the soft-eyed doe while giving suck 



The; Lotus Land. 73 

to her dear pretty little fawns. Many of these comers 
have placed double guns on one stock which shoots many 
small or larger bullets, in the hands of their sons, and 
these youngsters are playing havock with our sweet song- 
sters and plumage birds. They take the little shrub 
people, the high perched mocker that gladdens the morn- 
ings with its varied notes of melody, the high-flying air 
birds that tarry but a moment in a place, they go into 
their rookeries with their guns in the late evening hours, 
under the cover of night, to kill the shrub-loving whip- 
poor-will that softens the still hours of the night with its 
sweet plaintive notes, answering in sweet cadences the 
call of its mate at the other end of the jungle. They 
give no more quarters to these merry makers than they 
do to the blue-jay, or any bird of prey. I tried to show 
them what a blessing these little feathered people would 
be to them if they would spare them ; how they fill the air 
with gladness, how they destroy the thousands and mil- 
lions of insects that feed upon the grasses and the trees 
that are such a blessing to man and beasts, and saves 
them from destruction. These lads laugh me to scorn, 
and with a nod of the head they pass me by saying, 'what 
a fool old Indian.' Let me tell you, if I were to place 
bows and arrows in the hands of my boys and they were 
to use them that ugly, I would put the last one of them 
under taboo. I told you from the first that while I never 
intended any other weapon to go into the hands of any 
of my tribe, other than the bow and arrow, I thought 
the long rifle, with its clear, gentle crack, in the hands of 
good men, might not prove hurtful in our hunting 
grounds, when wisely used. But it seems as though 
these late comers, come with the loud, roaring double 
gun in stock, to scare and destroy in any and every way 



74 History of Walton County. 

they can think of, without a thought of those that are to 
come after them ; they seem to think their mission is to 
destroy. They use their guns to kill the fish in the 
stream for sport, and they put traps in the creeks to en- 
trap them and let them spoil in their homes through age. 
They come, they waste, they destroy, the good of the 
land. They seem to have no future before their eyes. 
And well do you know in these last days they have fallen 
upon the engine of the greatest destruction of all. They 
turn loose unbridled the dogs of fire to lap up with their 
blazing tongues this beautiful range, these great cane- 
brakes, which give such tender, sweet, and strong food 
to the beasts that roam through them, and these cruel, 
angry flames leap up in their mad wrath to the tops of 
our highest trees stripping them of their foliage and 
even claiming some of them. They make no effort to 
restrain them or cut them off in their sweep over the 
range. It is all right with them so that they are not 
entrapped in the flames. Only once in a half century 
did these flames get loose from us, and we took them in 
before they had gone but a little ways. And since the 
coming of these late ones there has been ever so many of 
these turnlooses. How often have I seen you and your 
forces working hard to beat back these ravages of fire, 
and as often did we come to your help to hinder them. 
But the more do they turn them loose to destroy. I 
talked to a company of hunters the other day and tried 
to explain to them the damage they were doing to them- 
selves through fire, and asked them why they would turn 
loose such a cruel creature of the bad man to ruin them- 
selves. They answered that they wanted to burn up the 
snakes, the poisonous rattler that was a terror to them. 
I showed them that the cunning venomous rattler and his 



The Lotus Land. 7S 

kind had holes and dens to crawl into and be safe from 
such enemies as fire, and that the one stag that these 
fires would soon perish out, would kill more rattlers in 
one year than their fires would kill in a century; that I 
had often watched them jump upon them in their coil, 
or on the go, and mash their life out of them with the 
rapid stroke of their fore-foot, before the rattler could 
make a strike. And I showed them the many other ways 
of the damaging effects of loosed fire, but it seems to have 
no tendency to restrict them. 

And let me tell you, my true friends and brothers, yooi 
faithful, tried, friends of the red man, you who under- 
stand and appreciate his wise, proved plans of keeping 
intact the country and its resources given by the Great 
Spirit to use and to hand down to the generations to 
come, there is no greater enemy to these resources than 
unrestrained fire. It is the greatest evil of our land. 
You and I have tried every way we know, peaceably 
to stop it, and have failed. We have let it go too far, it 
is getting worse and worse as they come in. There is 
no way to stop it without a fight, and this world is too 
big for us to stop here for a fuss. (Now, this is straight 
talk from an honest heart. If the U. S. Government will 
only take hold and stop this promiscuous ravages of fire 
in our woods — in less than fifty years we will have our 
land reforested and sodden — teeming with the abundance 
of berries, fruits and flowers that we had here three- 
quarters of a century ago.) Let us seek for another 
country, we can't hope for a better. Let us turn to- 
ward the East, toward the rising sun. I have been over 
that land and there is good country yet toward the 
east and south, along the Gulf and the Atlantic coast. 
Some Euchees from the same line of my tribe settled 



^6 History of Walton County. 

on the Atlantic coast along the Savannah River in 
Georgia, and some of them came as near to us as 
the Apalachicola River. Come and let us go to- 
gether and seek out another country. As I said 
before, we can not hope for a better land. I can 
never forget these flowing rivers, these rippling streams, 
abounding in fish, these open plains and hills with their 
tall pines waving over them, and troops of deer watch- 
fully feeding through them, the midnight hush of these 
great hammock lands, with nothing to disturb the silence 
save decayed falling limbs from the trees, and the hoot 
of the great owl and the merry songsters of the feathery 
tribes that cheer so much my old heart, as it beats slower 
and slower as the days go by. It is hard to give these 
dear things up and the peace they remind us of. Our 
fathers were driven from the great West years ago in 
rude boats, coasting along these hospitable shores, and 
found this place of rest and plenty. In their memories 
of the West, we do not want to turn our faces towards 
the setting sun, where the tomahawk is ever drawn to 
strike in battle and the bow and arrow are never un- 
strung, where the sun and the moon go down in blood 
as the days come and go. But rather let us turn towards 
the rising sun of peace to find us another home, that we 
may keep from the ravages of selfish men, who care noth- 
ing for those who come after them, a country that we 
will be faithful in from the start, and let no man come in 
with high hand to destroy their own good and the living 
for their posterity. We can do this if we be positive 
and commence in time. There is no other way in peace 
out of these conditions for us, but to find a new home, 
and we can readily do this. 

I will put my tribes at work in putting our market 



The Lotus Land. 77 

boats and the long gondolas in order, while we search 
well to the East along the southern coast as did our 
fathers, and they will be ready on our return to move. 
The able ones we will send over land near the shores, 
while the others, with their effects in the boats, will coast 
it along under our protection from the land to the new 
found home. 

There is one great fact that stands straight up in the 
red man's face, — he must go if he would have peace. We 
have let slip our chances for peace in this good land, and 
we must go to another where we shall find it and keep 
it well guarded from the start. Go we must. There is 
no other way for us to do. Now, come and go with us. 
We have so many ways and ideas in common. We un- 
derstand one another so well. Come and go with us 
'and we will do you good.' 'I have done. What do you 
say?" 

Neill McLendon Speaks in Council. 

Neill McLendon spoke outright, pointedly, and said, 
"I fully agree with the great Chief. He has spoken 
words of wisdom and of love in our ears that should 
move our souls. We have lost our opportunities of con- 
serving our resources by being too slow to act and too 
gentle when we did act. Had we been as prompt and 
as positive and as severe, in dealing with these depreda- 
tors at the first as John (Col. McKinnon) was with Wil- 
liamson when he ran George from his work, and kept it 
up, these conditions would not exist here today. Careless- 
ness with fire is to be our ruin in this wonderful country. 
I came upon a company of young hunters who had just 
placed fire in a large cane-brake in our range, asked them 
why they did such a wicked thing to destroy the nutri- 
tious cane and sweet grass that made fat on our cattle, 



78 History of Walton County. 

and the game animals. They said 'we wanted to hear the 
reeds pop, and there will be plenty of grass and cane 
here as long as we will live, and after they burn, new 
grass would spring up that would be better for the cat- 
tle.' I used all the power in me to show them that the 
continual burning over the range would ruin it for cat- 
tle, hogs and deer, that the berry and the sweet low bush 
apples would be killed out altogether, and a useless scrub 
oak would spring up in their stead, and there would, in 
a little while be no winter range for cattle to browse 
over and keep fat on. But all this talk was like casting 
pearls before swine. They went away laughing in their 
sleeves at my foolish talk, as they thought. I did not 
stop here. I went to their fathers and told them all, 
but found them as well set in the idea of burning the 
woods for fun and fresh grass as their sons were, point- 
ing me to the rich fresh grass around their homes that 
was keeping their cows in good milk all the summer. 
And when I pointed them to the poor range it would 
make for the winter, in comparison with the unburned, 
and how it would destroy the many varieties of huckley 
berries for hogs and chickens and the little birds, they 
would reply, 'there are plenty of rough woods just a 
little ways off, if we find them best.' And I find that 
this is pretty nearly the idea of all of these late comers ; 
they seem to be honestly set in their opinions, that there 
is no harm in giving up the range to the ravages of the 
flames, and that this land of plenty will continue to bring 
plenty without protection for ages to come, or during 
their days at least, in which they are mostly interested. 
I don't care to be crowded in so and see our common 
rights trampled upon as we see here. I have made up 
my mind to get out of here and would like to go with 



The Lotus Land. 79 

the great Chief and share his protection and generous 
hospitality, but I don't care to go farther East. I want 
to go where there is plenty of room, where I can't be 
crowded or elbowed out. (Let it be remembered that 
this is the same Neill McLendon that Miss Brevard in 
her School History tells us about leaving here seventy- 
five years ago to get "elbow room.") I am not afraid 
of the bloody West, the savages there, I know how to 
meet them now and how to turn them down. I was 
about ready to go to Texas when I fell in with this good 
friend, and was lead to this delightful land of health and 
plenty, of sunshine and beauty. I, with my dear ones, 
shall make ready to go West at once. I, too, hate to 
leave this delightful country, these tried, true friends. 
I know John (Colonel McKinnon) will go with me, or 
come when I write him." 

Colonel McKinnon's Talk in Council. 

Colonel McKinnon said, "I am in a condition to ap- 
preciate fully all that each of you have said, for I have 
had these same experiences, and even more, with these 
self-centered, self-knowing, belated comers. I have beg- 
ged them to use their guns more sparingly, and not to 
be careless with fire. I have pointed out to them the 
folly of killing out the game, — the seed corn in the wild 
woods, that supply our tables with meat, the merry birds 
that keep cheering melody all the day long, the birds of 
plumage that decorate our forests and waterways, with 
living, active beauty. I, with my forces, have made our- 
selves sick with heat, stopping fire that they carelessly 
or wantonly dropped in our range, to save it for winter 
feeding. They give a respectful hearing to these plead- 
ings and admonitions, but it seems they soon forget, or 



80 History of Walton County. 

can't realize any good in them. These depredators are 
comparatively few, when compared with our better peo- 
ple, and they are not what you would call bad people, 
they have good hearts in them. They are deficient in 
what we call culture. They have never learned to ap- 
preciate beauty and worth in nature, or how to conserv^e 
them. They have not been taught their personal obliga- 
tions to coming generations, that they ought to provide 
for them. Why, I came very near having a personal en- 
counter with two men just the other day for shooting up 
a bunch of laying turkeys in the range, they claiming 
they had as much right to kill in one season as another, 
to kill a laying hen as an old gobbler, that there would 
be plenty for everybody as long as they would live. I 
gave them a bit of my mind on selfishness. They cooled 
down, and I hope they will think over it and be better. 
These men would as readily shoot down one of these 
grand gallinaceous birds of the range, leading a brood of 
little ones to feed, or brooding on a nest of eggs, as to 
kill a carnivorous bird of prey in our wild swamps. I 
am aware that a few such men unrestrained can do a 
great deal of harm. But, on the other hand, we, out- 
numbering them as we do, can organize and educate 
them, at least their children. We will have schools, 
churches and laws. I think I can see them giving away 
now to public sentiment. Were we to leave and find as 
goodly a country as this to the East or West, we would 
find this same sort of don't care people coming in on us 
there, and we would have these same things to contend 
with. The land is going to be possessed. The star of 
empire or emigration is moving westward and southward 
and we can not stay it in its course. Let us untie from 
this star, drive our stakes down here, sure and steadfast. 



The Lotus Land. 81 

and hitch to it, and ride out the storms that come. Let 
us fight it out on these lines. Let us seek to make these 
men better, instead of running from them, to draw to the 
front the good, and drive out the bad. If we are sure 
we know the better way, and I think we do, there rest 
solemn obligations upon us to bring others in this way. 
Behind these ugly, thoughtless, depredators, and in the 
glow of these splendid commercial advantages which are 
ours, I see the more resplendent light of education in 
morals, in religion, in tastes, in culture, and in character- 
building in its broadest sense, before which petty en- 
croachments and wanton wastes, must give way. I have a 
fine herd of cattle multiplying in the woods with but little 
care. My hogs keep fat the year round about my home. 
My bunch of sheep are doing fine, but for the wolf, but I 
have to keep a shepherd after them for protection. It will 
be hard to find as delightful a place to live in as this, a 
place as easy to earn a livelihood. I have felt all the while 
that I was settled for life. I don't see how I could leave 
when I am as well situated as I am. I hate to see you 
and yours go in the face of such bright prospects, such 
promising rewards. We are in the majority and know 
how to conserve nature's resources, how to protect pub- 
lic rights, and we can come together and create a public 
sentiment that will show others how to see and respect 
public interests, as well as private rights. Then, too, we 
will soon be under legislative laws and order. We will 
send representatives to our territorial legislature, who 
will help enact proper protective laws, and we will see 
that they are properly enforced. Then, these men, whose 
motto is, in the Latin language, "carpe diem" (Seize the 
day) in the sense of letting every day provide for itself, 
and every man and generation look out for themselves, 



82 History of Walton County. 

will be forced to an education that will teach them that 
we are in this world to serve and respect others, as well 
as ourselves. It can't be long before we will be admitted 
into the sisterhood of states and be under the sovereign 
protection of a State, as well as under the sovereignty 
of the United States. So we have everything to encour- 
age us to cast our lot here in this goodly land, and 
nothing much to drive us away." On A. D. 1845, Col. 
John L. McKinnon and D. G. McLendon were elected 
as representatives to the Constitutional Convention that 
met at St. Josephs, Florida, when the State was admitted 
into the Union of States. 

The council ended here. These men understood each 
other fully, and we doubt very much if there were ever 
three men in council that were more determined and un- 
movable in the way they set their heads than these three 
men. 

Mr. McLendon said that the world was too big to have 
a man in his way, at his elbow, every time he turned 
round, and went at once to Pensacola, got a man by the 
name of Captain Dodd, who knew something about sail- 
ing and a little about the ship carpenter's trade, sawed 
out by hand with rip-saw. lumber, and kiln-dried it, to 
build a boat to take him to Texas. In eight or ten months 
it was ready to launch at Story's Landing. 

The old chief said that he did not want to live among 
a people that had to be made to look out for themselves 
and others, that knew nothing but waste, and cared noth- 
ing for the days ahead, and. leaving his tribe in charge of 
his son, the prince, Jim Crow, he went at once with four 
of his sons and five of his tribe's men, to the East, follow- 
ing closely along the south coast, hunting a new home 
for self and tribe, where they might live in peace and 
plenty, as in the days gone by. 



The Lotus Land. 83 



Chapter VIIL 



Goes on Search. 

They went as far as the Everglades and over to the 
Atlantic coast. He had, in his younger days, gone with 
his father as far as the Everglades. After a search of 
six months, they returned, the old Chief very much ex- 
hausted with the trip, and it was thought by some, not 
very well pleased with what he saw. They reported that 
they had found a few places better in a few things, but 
lacking in many other things that this country had. The}"- 
settled on no particular place to go to, — if they did, they 
kept it to themselves. The old Chief, worn out as he 
was by the trip, made himself active in getting his tribe 
together and ready for the move. He called them in 
from all their camps and quarters to the high grounds 
in the thick hammocks around Story's Landing. 

On one of the bleak days of the chill November month, 
in the early morn, there came a messenger to Colonel 
McKinnon's home with a message from the old Chief 
asking him to come at once to his quarters. Mrs. McKin- 
non sent word that her husband was away from home, 
that it would be some time in the night before he would 
return, but as soon as he returned he would go at once. 
She asked him if they were going to leave right away. 
He said "O no, he wants to see the Colonel on business, 
the Chief is not well enough to go just now." When the 
Colonel reached home that night and received the mes- 
sage he said to Mrs. McKinnon, "I must go, I expect they 
are going to leave tomorrow." When he was told by his 



Si History of Walton CoUxVTy. 

wife that the messenger said that they were not going to 
leave soon, that he wanted Lo see him on business, 
"Well," said the Colonel, "it must be on that matter be- 
tween Jim and Harriet. Do you know that during the 
time his father was gone to the East, Jim often talked to 
me, expressing a fear that his father would get a place 
that he would like better than this, which might sepa- 
rate him from his Harriet and baby? He went as far as to 
ask me on one occasion," in the event his father did move 
from here, if he would get two buxom maidens to serve 
in the place of his wife and baby Eliza, if I would be 
satisfied with the exchange?" I explained to him how im- 
possible it would be for me to hold property in the In- 
dian maidens, that they were free born, as free as he or 
myself. This seemed to undo the poor Indian. I was 
sorry for him. He loves them dearly, and I am the more 
sorry for him because I feel that it is love unrequited. 
I really don't believe, from what you tell me, that Har- 
riet loves him much. He came to me since his father 
returned, and, with tears in his eyes, said 'well, we must 
go. Will you set a price on wife and baby? I will see 
my father and if we can't arrange to meet it here, I think 
if he will go to Pensacola, he can arrange for it there. 
I don't see how I can go away and leave them, if the rest 
do go, and go they will, I know.' I told him I would 
think on it and do the best I could and let him know in 
a little while. He certainly got close to me. He is a 
good, honest, clear spoken man, and I want to avoid a 
separation, if they both really love each other." Mrs. 
McKinnon said, "Yes, you told me all this. Harriet 
doesn't love him as a husband, as he loves her as a wife. 
She admires him and is proud of him, and he is so good 
to her, but I never did believe she had any real love for 



The Lotus Land. 85 

him. I asked her today, after the messenger left, if she 
wanted to go with Jim to the East, and she answered 
promptly and unconditionally 'No, ma'am, I do not. I will 
live with Jim Crow if he stays here, and he talks to me 
as if he is going to stay, if his tribe does leave, but I will 
not leave you and go with him and his tribe, to, I don't 
know where. I will not leave my brothers and sisters, 
and master says he thinks my mother, so dear to me, that 
was left in South Carolina, will come out here in a few 
years, and I will be then where I can see her. I am 
sure not to go farther away from her." (Her mother 
and family did come.) 

"Well," said the Colonel, "this settles it, and settles it 
without embarrassing us. But I can't see why he was 
so urgent for me to go at once if they are not going to 
leave soon." But he decided to go. Friendship de- 
manded it. Services in days passed, on the part of the 
Chief, called to him to go. In the late midnight hour he 
rode into that dense forest, that a dark, drizzly night had 
made as black as Egyptian darkness, a night made hide- 
ous by the grating notes of the little screech owl, and the 
bellowing of the great alligator, that made the earth 
tremble, and the water spout skyward, as they plunged 
from the banks into the murmuring Choctawhatchie. 
As he neared the quarters, he saw a great circle of little 
camp fires in front of wigwams. He knew then that 
the tribe, consisting of more than half a thousand, had 
been gathered for the exodus. In the midst of this cir- 
cle of fires was the Chief's palatial tent, made of mate- 
rial that was impervious to water and to heat. 

He dismounted and hitched his horse. The outside 
watchers met him as he approached the tent, and with- 
out asking a question, lifted the folds of the tent and 



86 History of Walton County. 

ushered him in. By the dim light of a taper that rested 
on a small rustic table, not a lamp or a candle, as we 
would have it, but a long conical shaped wick that had 
been soaked in oil and coated with wax, he sees the form 
of the old Chief in his big rustic arm chair, in the center 
of his tent, his head resting against the center pole or 
prop of the tent. His couch was close by him. At his 
left sat Neill McLendon. As the Colonel approached him 
he asked "How is it with you tonight?" The Chief, rais- 
ing his head from the prop, said "It is not with me at all 
as it has been in the days gone by." Pointing him to a 
seat to his right, he continued : "They tell me it is an ugly 
night outside, as it is a sad one to me inside, but I am 
glad you came. I have been wishing to see you for sev- 
eral days, as this change comes on. I have much to say 
to you men. I promised Jim Crow that I would talk to 
you about arranging for his squaw and baby, — no, I 
musn't say squaw, he doesn't like that, he wants us to 
call her his wife. The poor boy says he doesn't see how 
he can go away and leave them and wants me to see you 
and try to arrange with you for them to remain to- 
gether." "Yes," said the Colonel. "Jim Crow and I 
talked that matter over, and I promised him to do the 
best I could, and knew any arrangement you and I 
could agree upon would be satisfactory to all parties. But 
Harriet said today that she could not leave her mistress 
and all of her kin. She is looking for her mother and fam- 
ily that was left behind in South Carolina to come on in a 
few years, and if she goes East, she knows she will never 
see her again. She says she prefers staying with us to 
going into the unknown." "Well," said the Chief, "that 
settles this matter. I am sorry on Jim Crow's account 
that it had to be settled this wav, for he loves her with 



The Lotus Land. 87 

all his heart." He was silent for a little while and 
seemed to be in a meditative mood. The Colonel broke 
the silence by asking "What seems to be the trouble 
with you?" He said "I expect the Great Spirit is call- 
ing me and I will have to go. I think now he was call- 
ing me all along the way, as I journeyed toward the East 
in search of a home, for when we would come to a 
goodly land here and there along the way that would 
make us homes, disadvantages would arise and some- 
thing would say within me, there is a better hunting 
ground for you than this, and so it was, until we reached 
the Atlantic. And while we passed by many good places, 
but none so good as this, we have returned without set- 
tling upon any sure one to go to, so I feel now that this 
was the call of the Great Spirit, and the better hunting 
ground for me is over that last river." The Colonel said 
to him, "Do you think it will be well with you over 
there?" He brightened up and said, "I can't say; I am 
going under sealed orders, and don't know what I shall 
find there. If I meet your Jesus, the Son of the Great 
One, I shall claim Him as my friend and tell Him that 
it was you men that told me about Him, and the Father, 
and ask Him if it was His Spirit that was calling me 
over. I trust that it will be well with me over there." 
Neill McLendon spoke up and said, in his confident tones, 
"If it will be well with any of us over there, it will be well 
with you." The old Chief, with face aglow with smiles. 
and with a trembling voice, said, "We have spent many 
happy days in the chase and roaming over these wild 
woods, and in our swift canoes that moved over the clear 
waters like things of life, but It seems now the parting 
time has come, we are to be separated far away from one 
another. It may be as far as the East is from the West, 



88 History of Walton County. 

as far as the skies are above the earth." Then he leaned 
his head back against the center post as at the first, ap- 
peared a little tired, but was quiet, and seemed to sleep 
sweetly. The night was well near spent. There is a 
hush within and without, a stillness peculiar to the deep 
forests in the night time. Then comes the rush of the 
morning out of this stillness. The old Chief started up, 
he groaned and fell back. It was a groan of the body- 
prompted by the spirit. This brought his large family 
and men of counsel to his side. The spacious tent is 
filled. We placed him on his couch and he is at ease 
again. He rolls his great eyes around and looks in the 
faces of the watchers standing about his couch. He 
takes the hand of Jim Crow and is propped up on his 
couch, and says to him, "My son. I bless you as the 
Chief of these tribes, in my stead ; be faithful and lead 
them in the paths of peace and plenty, and not in the 
ways of waste and want and contentions. Do honor to 
the name of your fathers," and turning his eyes toward 
those who were with him on the home search to the East, 
said, "These will show you the good hunting grounds, 
choose well for them and yourself, and you all be faith- 
ful followers and be blessed." Then he turned his eyes 
and said, "My white friends, good-bye. I want to be 
buried in a coffin deep down in the ground after the man- 
ner of your burying. I want my bow unstrung and ar- 
row and tomahawk placed by mj side." and turning his 
eyes towards his faithful squaw and children he said, "I 
am passing through the swollen river to join those that 
have passed over to a better hunting ground. Good-bye." 
And then he closed those benignant eyes in peace. — in 
death. 

The folds of the great tent are lifted and the glorious 



The Lotus Land. 89 

sun, coming from its chambers in the East, throws a flood 
of light over his sleeping body, through the open branches 
of the great trees. Thus ends the wonderful life of a 
great man, not in book lore, but in natural knowledge, — 
not a hero in war, but in peace, — not a diplomat in the 
affairs of great matters, but a wise manager in the affairs 
that pertained to his little kingdom by the sea. In his 
death we have the foregleams of immortality, that be- 
yond the grave, behind the shadows, is the bright light 
of immortality, telling us that the soul shall not be left 
in the grave to see corruption. 

These white men present, left him in the hands of his 
mourning tribes. On the following morning Colonel Mc- 
Kinnon, the McLendons and other white friends, with 
Uncle George, made him the coffin, took it down, put his 
body in it, as he requested, dug his grave under the 
shades of the trees in the hammock land, close by the 
road that lead to his landing, let down the coffin to its 
place in the ground, placed the rich mould over him, 
and at his head they put up a wooden slab four feet high 
made of fat lightwood, with this simple superscription 
upon it, 

"Sam Story — Chief of the Euchees." 

And his grave is with us until this day. I have stood by 
it often and read the simple superscription. 

Campbell, in his historical sketches of Florida, has 
much to say in praise of his hero of peace, Alexander Mc- 
Gillivra, the educated Scotch Indian, Grand Chief of the 
bloody Creeks, the descendants of that great Muscogee 
race of Mexico, to whom the war-hoop was music. He 
says that this Indian and half Scotchman Chief was the 
most remarkable man to whom Alabama ever gave birth, 
and the most extraordinary man to whom Florida has ever 



90 History of Walton County. 

furnished a grave. Judge Campbell's mind seems to be 
much perturbed at the way William Panton, of that rich 
commercial firm of Panton, Leslie and Company in Pen- 
sacola, treated him in his death, when he had professed 
such great friendship for him, and for whom McGillivra 
had done so much to increase his fortune, turning the 
whole trade of the Creeks to his firm for years. He says 
he ought at least to have erected a brick monument over 
his remains, reverently protecting it up to the time he 
left Florida so that this generation might be able to direct 
the footsteps of the stranger to his tomb. He was bur- 
ied with Masonic honors in Panton's garden. The iden- 
tity of the spot has defied diligent investigation, and gen- 
erations unconsciously desecrate his dust. He tells us 
too of the bitter thoughts of the Creeks when they knew 
that he slept in the "Sands of the Seminoles" and not on 
the banks of the beautiful Coosa, which he loved so well ; 
where he was born, where he had presided over councils 
and made "paper talk" for their good, and where his 
hospitality was ever ready, alike for the distinguished 
stranger and humble wayfarer." Judge Campbell has 
convinced us that Alexander McGillivra was an astute 
statesman and diplomat, that he did much for peace 
among the nations in his quadruple dealing with them. 
It is said on good authority that he held a Brigadier 
General's commission from Great Britain, from the 
United States, from the Spanish Government, and from 
his own nation of the Creeks, all at the same time. Be- 
yond a doubt he received salaries from all these gov- 
ernments and we may say a good commission from the 
Panton Co. for the trade he turned to them. Sure we are 
ready to concede that he was a remarkable man. None 
but a wonderful man, a highly educated mind, could bring 



The Lotus Land. 91 

about, in that quadruple way, such marvelous results. 
He sought after peace and he thirsted for money. His 
great heart was full of love for mankind, but it was 
overflowing with cupidity. He was often under dark 
clouds but they would roll away to make room for 
others to come. We have no doubt but that President 
Roosevelt in his "Strenuous Life" would have crowned 
him as a great hero. 

Sam Story, the friend of the Scotchman, and who 
never claiming to be his equal socially or intellectually, 
was never under even a transitory cloud. He always 
stood out in the open, and everybody understood him. 
He loved and was ever ready to help his fellow man. 
He adorned the natural, the simple life. He was peace 
personified. Pacific Isaac was never more yielding and 
self-sacrificing that he, yet he had the bravery of an 
Abraham buried deep in his broad bosom. Judge Camp- 
bell well says, "The defense of such characters must rest 
at last upon the final judgment of their own people, their 
own nation, upon their life work." So judged, Sam 
Story will hold a high place in the hearts of the lovers 
of peace and the conservators of the beauties and utilities 
of nature. This child of the wilderness, nursed in the lap 
of nature's bounties, schooled in the college of the nat- 
ural, ofifers rich lessons to the disturbers of peace, the 
depredators on nature's bounties. 

The old patriarch's friends have nothing to bewail them 
as to his last resting place, for their appreciation of his 
worth, prompted them to give him a grave where he 
asked it, in the groves on the banks of the beautiful mur- 
muring Choctawhatchie that he loved so much and was 
so loath to leave, a grave around which the merry warb- 
lers, sitting on their swinging limbs, will make music 



92 History of Walton County, 

through the day, and the night birds sound their dirge 
notes through the long nights. His grave was marked 
with the most lasting material the country afforded. 

When the last great Day shall come, and the trumpet 
sounds, Walton will open a grave in which there will be 
no shrinking back from judgment, but a leap to the 
plaudit, "well done." Wagner, in his "Simple Life" 
would crown such an one a "hero of peace and conserxa- 
tion." 

Hedging in His People. 

The writer years ago. when a representative to 
the Presbyterian General Assembly that convened in 
Dallas, Texas, remembers hearing a report made to 
the Committee on Foreign Missions by an agent 
of the Pan-Presbyterian Churches, who had visited 
all the missions that belted our globe. In that re- 
port he said. "I, with two of the stationed missionaries 
on the Western coast of Africa, visited a tribe of Afri- 
cans, well in from the coast and well hedged in from in- 
truders by natural boundaries. They were there in their 
primitive state. No French trader or Catholic Jesuit 
had tampered with them. The local missionaries that 
lead me to them had located them a little while before, 
but did no missionary work among them. They had 
some knowledge of the Supreme Being, but offered sacrifi- 
ces to Him after the order of righteous Abel's fleshly 
offerings. While they needed much help to the knowl- 
edge and worship of the true God, yet they had laws, or 
customs, and manners, in their government, and many 
rare virtues that would have done credit to many of our 
civilizations. Of course they had many crude and ugly 
habits that ought to be corrected. These same missiona- 



The Lotus Land. 93 

ries cited us to other tribes not far from there that had 
been made worse by contact with civilized French tra- 
ders that claimed to be missionaries. Instead of being 
made better, they adopted their vices that tarnished their 
own inherent virtues." 

Now, these hedged in African tribes remind us very 
much of these pent up Euchee Indians on the Chocta- 
whatchie and show us that God is wise and good, and 
how He can preserve His oracles through dark ages. 



94 History of Walton County. 



Chapter IX. 

The Euchees Depart from Walton. 

Notwithstanding their old Chief had everything 
practically ready for their departure Eastward, they lin- 
gered for three weeks around the grave of their father, 
their departed Chief. Smitten at heart, they bewailed 
his death, so unexpected to them, and performed funeral 
rites all the days while they lingered. Then the new 
Chief, Jim Crow, came and took an affectionate leave 
of his wife and little daughter, Eliza, sorrowing most of 
all that he would be with them no more. My mother 
said that Harriet did her part well in giving him an af- 
fectionate farewell, and for a week showed sadness over 
the parting. Jim Crow, in bidding my mother and father 
good-bye said, "Had I not been blessed of my father into 
the leadership, the Chief of the tribe, I would remain and 
be as loyal as my lovely wife." 

On the following day the great tent was struck, folded 
away, and, with its contents, laid in one of the market 
boats, together with other belongings of the tribe. They 
all then assembled in a circle around the grave of the 
old Chief, and with soft tread they marched several times 
round, moaning and bewailing the death of their cen- 
tenarian Chief. They turned in their march to the land- 
ing, where the boats were tied along the river banks, 
some softly murmuring as they marched on, "he died of 
old age," others saying, "he died of fatigue in finding us 
a new hunting ground," while others cried in mournful 
song, "not of these, not of these, he died of a broken 



The; Lotus Land. 95 

heart," all joining in this sad plaintive lay until they 
reached their boats. 

Those who were to march over land were passed over 
the river, while those who were to go by water entered 
their boats, and as they were loosed from the banks and 
floated down the stream, they said "our eyes shall behold 
his grave no more, neither shall we lie down in the shades 
of these trees, nor shall our hearts be made glad any 
more by these little feathered songsters in these deep 
tangled wildwoods, that make merry music all the day 
long and soften the nights with their little notes." As 
they moved down on the swift current of the stream, with 
muffled oars, they looked back and said, "no more shall 
the twang of our bowstring be heard in these wildwoods. 
No more shall the keels of our swift canoes cleave these 
silver waters." They passed rapidly down the Choctaw- 
hatchie River and Bay, going South and Westward, out 
at East Pass into the great Gulf, turned Eastward, and 
sailed along Florida's southern shores in constant touch 
with the marchers on the land. They were seen as they 
passed Old St. Marks, marching and sailing on slowly, 
and there they passed out of view, to be heard of no more 
as a tribe, but not out of memory's sweet recollections. 

The writer, ever on the alert to find some vestige of 
this lost tribe, has reason to believe that they settled 
along the Everglades and are there yet, not as a tribe, 
but merged into the lingering tribe of the Seminoles. In 
1874, while in Tallahassee as a representative in the legiS" 
lature, when Lieutenant Governor Gleason wanted to go 
to the United States Senate, and had himself elected Sen- , 
ator to the State legislature from Dade County by a ma- 
jority of six votes, all the votes cast at that election, and 
a native Indian elected as the representative, he brought 



96 History of Walton County. 

this tall, stout young Indian as representative to the leg- 
islature from down there and tried to seat him, that he 
might vote for him to go to the United States Senate, but 
failed. It was in carpet-bag days and they already had 
more pliable tools than he in the negro. It was in those 
days when the negroes had the majority in the legisla- 
ture. I noticed that this Indian was very quiet and had 
nothing to say or do with the negroes, but kept close af- 
ter the Governor all the time he stopped in Tallahassee, 
holding implicit confidence in all he told him. I sought 
an interview with each of them separately and then both 
together, and feel satisfied that this young Indian was 
a grand son of Sam Story. He said his father's name 
was "Sleeping Fire" and was killed when he was young. 
The third oldest son of Sam Story was named "Sleeping 
Fire". He said his parents came from the South and 
West years before he was born, so his age suits. They 
tell us down there that this remnant of Indians that 
were left in the Everglades are very pacific and chaste, 
and depend in the main for their living on fishing and 
hunting. Everything goes to prove that the Euchee tribe 
predominates in that remnant who are the wards of our 
State and are protected in their inheritance in the Ever- 
glades. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit 
the earth." 

Levey Potter. 

This is the grand-daughter of Jim Crow and his wife 
Harriet, the daughter of their daughter Eliza, who mar- 
ried Jim Harris, a yellow boy at Freeport, Florida, just 
before the war. She is the great-grand-daughter of the 
Great Chief, Sam Story. Lovey married a yellow boy, 
Walton Potter, 35 years ago, and they have raised a 



The Lotus Land. 97 

large family of boys and girls. The girls are handsome, 
with long straight black hair and prominent cheek bones, 
showing more of the Sam Story race than the mother. 
Hon. Henry Bush, who has ever been a close neighbor 
to them, says they behave nicely and are very chaste. 

The old Chief is not left without a representative in 
the land he loved so well. "Thy seed shall live in the 
land after thee." 



r. 



98 History of Walton County. 



Chapter X. 

Neill McLendon Getting Ready to Leave. 

About the time Neill McLendon Avas getting his craft 
ready for launching, he had many set-backs. He failed 
to get oakum and pitch from Pensacola and had to cork 
his vessel with the fiber barks of the cypress, mixed with 
the woven shreds of the swamp palmetto, and had to run 
his own tar from the split fat lightwood and boil it down, 
to pitch the seams. When these troubles were overcome, 
there came another. His ship-carpenter. Captain Dodd, 
split his foot open with the ax, rendering him helpless, 
so far as physical work was concerned. One hindrance 
after another came in their turn, but the old Scotchman 
kept surmounting them with his indomitable energy and 
stickativeness, until he was able to launch his boat, and 
rigged Irer for the sea. She was rudely but strongly built 
with the help and material he had to use. He gave her the 
name of "Euchee" in honor of the old Chief. The vessel 
now ready, he gave orders to his clan to make ready for 
the sea. 

McLendon Leaves For Texas. 

His brother Lochlin, himself, and three others, with 
their families, together with the crippled Captain Dodd, 
and we think, John Folk, got ready on short notice to 
sail. It is said that he thought it a waste of time for his 
wife to go and tell her brother, Daniel D. Campbell, and 
other friends at Euchee Anna, good bye, when they were 
bothered so long in getting off. It was in November 
1833, after the Euchees left in November before, that 



The Lotus Land. 99 

the "Schooner Euchee" turned loose from the same land- 
ing, sailing under the direction of Captain Dodd down 
the same river and bay, but instead of turning to the east, 
when they reached East Pass, as the Euchee tribe did, 
they sailed right on to the westward through that beau- 
tiful poor-man's inland channel, along Santa Rosa Island, 
to Pensacola, and cast anchor there for enrollment and to 
take on shipping stores. They were detained there sev- 
eral days on account of threatening weather. In the 
meantime, his many friends, the merchant-men and oth- 
ers, seeing his rude craft, and the precious freight of 
women and children, and a cripple that was to be both 
Captain and Pilot, who had never been to sea only along 
the coast, and without chart or compass, save McLen- 
don's pocket compass, that he used to help him through 
the woods, these friends said to him, "It will never do 
for you to go to sea with such a craft and such a crew ; 
if you were driven out to sea there is no telling where 
you would land without a navigator, even if you were 
fortunate enough to ride out the storm." He said with 
great emphasis, "I know it will do. I have a pocket com- 
pass along that always points toward the North, whether 
there is a North star to be seen or not, and any fool ought 
to be able to follow its pointing." They told him that 
the town authorities would not allow him to do such a 
reckless thing. He said, "I did not stop here to be dictated 
to by the town authorities." When they looked out on 
the bay the next morning with no change in the weather, 
they saw that the Euchee had weighed anchor, in the 
darkness of that hour, just before the dawning, and was 
out on the bosom of the briny deep, sailing along the 
southern coast to the westward under a stiff land breeze 
and under the threatening clouds and muttering thunders. 



100 History of Walton County. 

The "Spanish Gazette" came out that day with a heart 
stirring editorial, written both in EngHsh and Spanish, 
under this heading, "A Most Daring, Reckless Deed for 
Man." " 

"Neill McLendon, from up the Choctawhatchie Coun- 
try, in a two mast schooner called the "Euchee", built up 
there under the direction of an unskilled ship-carpenter, 
with tools and material unsuitable for ship building, a 
vessel wholly insufficient, both in model and material 
for sea-going, freighted with the precious souls of fami- 
lies of men with women and children, sailed out of this 
port this stormy weather, leaving under the cover of 
darkness, and when daylight opened up to view the lit- 
tle Euchee, we saw her sails spread to the winds, skim- 
ming along swiftly on the bosom of the deep like a flying 
sea bird to the westward, under a stiff land breeze, her 
objective point the great Lone Star State, Texas. On 
board of that little schooner, with the exception of a 
crippled sailor who had sailed a few times along the 
coast, there was not a man with nautical skill enough to 
pilot a skiff boat up the smooth waters of the Choctaw- 
hatchie. Had he waited until daylight to sail, the town 
authorities would have restrained him from such a per- 
ilous and reckless undertaking. His many friends here 
expostulated with him in all the kind words they were 
able to summons not to go upon the boisterous sea with 
such a frail bark, and it so poorly equipped ; but to no 
purpose. We have heard of men taking their own lives 
in hand, and brook danger when destruction seemed in- 
evitable ; but never did we hear of a sane man, under 
such circumstances, taking his own, and the precious 
lives of families that we know were dear to him, and 
launch out upon a treacherous sea in the very face of 



The Lotus Land. 101 

threatening storms. We doubt very much if they will 
ever be heard of again" 

Days and months rolled by and they bring no intel- 
ligence of the Schooner Euchee and the precious souls 
that went out into the gloom with her. Finally, when 
many months had passed, Colonel McKinnon received 
the letter below, — 

A Letter From McLendon. 

Galveston, Texas, Feb. 6th, 1834. 

Dear John :- — 

We were three months on the way. Stormy weather 
forced us to take shelter in every inlet and port between 
here and Pensacola. We were cast upon many reefs and 
shoals. We went through all the inland ways we could 
find to protect us from the savage waves. On several 
occasions we thought the little Euchee was going to be 
lashed to pieces. The angry sea waves were stronger 
than I thought to find them. But after a long, perilous 
trip, we all rolled into this port safely. I left my family 
here and went through much of Texas. It is a fine, rich, 
grazing country, rich soil for farming purposes, plenty 
of room in every direction. We selected homes on South 
Boskey Creek, well up, and near the Brazos River. I sold 
the Euchee here today for more than she cost me. We 
go now with our families to our new homes. I thought 
of writing you from New Orleans, where we stopped for 
a time to make repairs, had to cork the "Euchee" anew 
from stem to stern. We like to have worn out ourselves 
pumping before we reached there. I made again to 



102 History of Walton County. 

write you when we landed in this port, but thought I 
would wait until I had something worth writing; and we 
were so disappointed with this part of Texas, and so 
unsettled, I concluded I would wait until we would see 
more and get homes. Captain Dodd stayed with the 
Euchee and has a bad foot yet. Don't write until you 
hear from me again. We want to be remembered by yon 
all. We remember you Valley people with much love. 

Your cousin, 

Neill McLendon, 



The Lotus Land. 103 



Chapter XL 

Settles Near Waco. 

It was a long time before they heard from him again. 
The Colonel received a short letter after so long a time, 
stating that they were well and pleased with the country, 
but that the natives were not such Indians as the Eu- 
chees ; they were treacherous and revengeful, with no re- 
specters of persons, when they sought revenge. Then in 
a short time the Colonel received a sad, sad, letter, stating 
that the Indians had burned the homes and massacred 
his brother and wife and mother and all the children ex- 
cept a five year old son, John, named for Colonel McKin- 
non, him they took off with them. This certainly was 
sad news to their many relatives and friends in the Val- 
ley, who loved them so much. Their homes were in 
McClellon County near the town of Waco. This county 
was called for Neill McClellon, as the Texans called 
him. After this there was a regular correspondence kept 
up between the two, with long intervals at times, until 
the Civil War came. 

When that country was being settled up so fast, let- 
ters would come urging the Colonel to move out there at 
once, if he wanted to become rich, that one, understanding 
so much about law, writing deeds, and surveying lands 
as he did, could make an average of from $25.00 to $50.00 
per day. Each letter was fraught with intelligence or 
rumors about the lost boy, that they kept him painted 
with the red man's colors, "that they were exceedingly 
kind to him. Sometimes they would hear of him being 



10 }. ITisTORY OF Walton County. 

in the farthest West, in the Indian Territory, and as far 
up as Missouri, and when he became sixteen they made 
him Chief of a tribe, doing all their planning and trad- 
ings, and that he was exceedingly popular with them all, 
and was honored and well cared for." In 1850 my brother, 
Dr. A. D. McKinnon, went on a prospecting tour through 
Texas and when he came to Neill McLendon's he learned 
that there had been a treaty between the whites and In- 
dians that brought about friendly feelings between them. 
This good feeling was brought about by the lad's uncle 
Neill, who made it one of the terms of the treaty that the 
young man they had stolen must be returned to his peo- 
ple, and this agreement was fully carried out. So my 
brother found the stolen boy, after so many years, with 
bloody savages, back with his uncle, his Scotch kin, 
where he was becoming day by day more satisfied with 
his rescue. Instead of the little helpless boy of five 
years, as he was held in mind, there stood before him a 
tall, straight, stout young man, weighing 185 pounds, a 
perfect athlete in bodily activities, with a mind well 
stowed with knowledge of the natural world, especially 
the savage part of it. His eyes, voice, and manners 
bespoke leadership. His uncle was fearful that the lead- 
ing Indians would induce him to return to them, as they 
would never come to town without hunting him up. They 
made no trade without wanting him to pass upon it. 

When Dr. McKinnon was ready to return to Florida, 
his uncle Neill thought it best for the young man to come 
to Florida, so as to wean him from his old associates. 
He loved the Indian apparel out of skins, so both of them 
had suits made out of dressed deer skins, bound with 
black braid, to wear home. His uncle bought him a fine 
horse and a Mexican saddle and thev rode horseback from 



The Lotus Land. 105 

Waco, Texas, to Euchee Anna, Florida. I remember well 
the oddit}' of their suits. He was given a jolly welcome 
when he went among his kin in the Valley. He favored 
us with many interesting and startling stories about his 
wild life while roaming in the wild country with the sav- 
ages. I remember him telling that they were once on a 
forced march and were nearly starved when they came to 
a pen that held two fat Texas steers that weighed 700 lbs. 
each, and they jumped over, slew them, and in a little 
while they ate every bit of them raw, save the hide and 
bones. He said the first big trade he made for them 
that brought him into favor with them as a trader, was 
when they had captured a splendid young negro fellow 
that was worth then twelve or fifteen hundred dollars. 
They sent him into a little town to trade him off, and he 
got five gallons of whiskey for him. A war dance was 
given him for the good trade he made. This Boskey 
John, as he was called, returned to Texas. Three years 
after the Civil War he fell from the third story of a 
house in Waco, breaking his neck. 

Another younger brother, Captain C. L. McKinnon, 
went out to Texas in 1859 and returned in 1860. He found 
Neill McLendon, that same old negligible quantity he 
always was, with his leather girdle around his waist and 
his shirt collar thrown open, living like a king. His sons 
and daughters were all settled around him in good cir- 
cumstances. Their homes were not disturbed by the 
Civil War and his generations there are among "the 
blessed who inherit the earth." 

We leave this very remarkable character in the hands 
of his Texas friends who understand him, to tell of his 
worth. We shall ever remember him as a wonderful 
man, plain, outspoken, daring, and who loved his fellow 
man and exercised implicit trust in his God. 



106 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XII. 

Walton's First Sensation, or Sam Story's and McLen- 
don's Exodus. 

The peaceable exodus of Chief Story and McLendon 
with their families to the East and West, may be said 
to be the first real sensation that stirred the little Scotch 
Colonists from center to circumference. It was the topic 
of conversation at home and abroad, in church meetings 
and state gatherings, some sad, others glad. One would 
declare it meant a free license to destroy and waste. An- 
other would say it meant unrestrained liberty and peace. 
Surely these quiet exits Stood for much in any way you 
look at them. Just what they meant to Walton no one 
may ever know. Had these men made up their minds to 
remain here and contend for what they honestly be- 
lieved was the public rights of every individual in nature's 
domain, at this time, when there was no law. or none to 
execute them, no force could have been brought against 
them that they would not have been able to withstand ; 
for with all their pacific actions, there never walked this 
great globe two braver men, more determined when they 
got their heads set. They could have commanded not only 
their own forces, but a very great majority of the pio- 
neers were in full sympathy with their views and would 
have come readily to their help to be guided by their 
wise counsels, and they might have established here, in 
these infant days, a protection of the utilities and beau- 
ties of nature that would have found a hearty response 
one and a half decades later in that great literary teacher 



The Lotus Land. 107 

at Old Knox Hill. This too, with the friends they could 
have called around them, would have been invincible to 
any home force that could have been brought against 
them. And this combination would have given us moral 
force and culture along life's ways that would have been 
an example to the world, and would have given us today 
green pastures, rich fruits, more abundant granaries, 
game in plenty, denser forests, and a more healthful 
clime. We would have more abundant swinging gardens 
of grapes and flowers along our streams, gardens as rich 
in the production of fruits and flowers as were the gar- 
dens of Hesperides. This is no wild Utopian idea. It is 
reasonable, practical. 

Now let us look at the pessimistic side a moment. 
Had they stayed and provoked a conflict of any duration, 
that would have caused a weakening of the forces. That 
Argus eyed, bloody Creek nation in our sister state, al- 
ways on the alert, would have pounced down on these 
founders and annihilated them, and there would be no 
Scotch pioneers to write about today. Neither is this any 
wild pessimistic idea. It is a reasonable view to take, 
as the sequel will show after a while. These events came 
in parts of the years 1832-33. 

Times Just After the Exodus. 

The aborigines and founders are gone and discussed, 
and the colonists appear to move on as though they had 
never lived here, or moved away. The moving on of the 
world doesn't depend upon any man, be he humble or 
exalted. We are very light when properly weighed. 
These early pioneers were wonderfully blessed in the 
years that were passing. No marked disasters had fallen 



108 History of Walton County. 

to them or their efforts, common to colonies. They are 
blessed with health. Their labors are crowned with suc- 
cess; their fields are yielding plentifully, their cattle mul- 
tiplying as the seasons come and go ; and their homes 
are made more and more comfortable. Their work is 
not hard. They can live so easy in this beautiful land. 

The women, as is always the case in pioneered homes, 
have the hardest time. It is they who go to the cry of the 
children, who look after the garden, and prepare the 
meals, who see to the milking of cows, and the feeding 
of the chickens, to the spinning and weaving of the cloth, 
and the cutting and making of the garments, to the gath- 
ering of the clothes and the washing, to the keeping in 
order of the home, and a hundred other things did these 
pioneer women have to do, yet. they too, are being con- 
tent. 

These people were so neighborly. They commenced 
socially with each other. If one or two from a neighbor- 
hood went to market, they took in their wagons the gourd 
of eggs, the coop of chickens, the bees-wax, the tallow, 
and the fat pig, for all the rest in the neighborhood and 
brought back merchandise for same. They were neigh- 
borly in the fullest sense. These people living the sim- 
ple life here never thought of charging a stranger or 
traveller for a night's lodging. I do not suppose any one 
ever paid for a meal or for lodging in Walton until after 
the Civil War. 



The Lotus Land. 109 

SECOND LPOCH. 

Chapter XIIL 

The Indian War. 

This third epoch does not break upon them like a 
thunder storm, but they are lead up to it through sad 
paths, while they are not dreading or thinking of it. 
Would the reader be lead up to this epoch by this sad 
path, in an interesting and impressive way, then let him 
go, as I did at the last, in person to a point on the Wes- 
tern banks of Gum Creek, eight miles North of DeFuniak 
Springs, tell Jake Bell or Joe Stafford, who live near by 
that memorable spot, that you want to see the mounds 
that tell the story of the first real trouble that led to the 
third epoch of Walton's pioneer settlers. They will take 
you to a little spot, stained with blood, near the banks 
of Gum Creek. Then they will lead you just a little 
ways off to a water oak hammock. In the midst of this 
they will point you to three little mounds of earth and 
say to you, these tell the tales of woe, the sad story that 
led up to the lifting of the curtain that let in the black 
darkness, the Indian War in Walton, that pressed so 
heavily on the good people in this happy land for nearly 
two years. If you cannot visit this historic spot in person, 
then come and go with me in imagination, as I really often 
did at the first, when a boy, and sit at the feet of one 
around the camp-fires on a cowhunt, and hear him tell 
the tragic story, as none but he could tell it, for he knew 
more about it than any other man. His mind, his heart, 
and his tongue were alive with it, as he talked about it. 
This man was Sill Caswell, then a sprightly young man 



110 History of Walton County. 

in the prime of life, of short, stout build, short feet, having 
had his toes frozen off when a boy. He raised a large 
family of sons and daughters. His last son died at 
Euchee Anna last year. He died twenty seven years ago 
at his home at Alaqua, southwest of DeFuniak Springs. 
Listen now to him as he sat at night around the camp- 
fires on a cow hunt, telling us boys the thrilling story. 

"In the fall of 1835, Big John Anderson, William Nel- 
son, John Porter, Thomas Broxton, and myself went out 
on a cow hunt, in the range up and down Shoal River and 
its tributaries, looking after our cattle that fed in this 
range. When we were out there several days and had 
gone up Shoal River as high as the Cawthon ford, we 
learned that a short time before a marauding party of 
Creek Indians had swooped down through the lower 
edge of Alabama and into Walton, and fell upon Joseph 
Hart's families, who lived across Pea River and massa- 
cred him and all his large family in the morning while 
they were tending their cattle at the cow-pens, except 
one daughter, whom they stabbed and left for dead, but 
she recovered (and is the mother of George Marlow, now 
living at Lime Stone.) The next morning they came to 
the home of his brother Robert and attacked his home, 
but he was better prepared, was barricaded in his home, 
and he and all his family were armed with guns and 
drove them away, killing and wounding seven, and none 
of his family were hurt, except one daughter, Chacie, 
who was shot through the arm and who was the mother 
of our Henry Wilkerson with us to-day, and owner of the 
"Smith Mill." Henry Wilkerson had an uncle killed a 
few days afterwards by the same raid. 

We learned that these plunderers were moving down 
the heads of Shoal River. This information turned us 



The Lotus Land. Ill 

to the South East in the direction of our homes. In the 
early evening of that day, as we hunted up and down the 
creeks that we had crossed, as we bore homeward, along 
the banks of Big Swamp Creek, we found some large 
tracks, not very many. We knew they were the tracks of 
hunters, and persuaded ourselves, from what we had 
heard, that they must be the tracks of Indian hunters, 
and very probably a party from that band that did up 
the Hart families so badly. We hastened on our way. 
In the late evening time we were nearing the place on 
Gum Creek where we proposed to camp and take rest 
for ourselves and horses for the night, when we came 
upon an old mother bear with a bunch of good big size 
cubs. We shot and killed one of them, took it on to 
the camp, dressed it, built a little oak fire, and barbecued 
it before we went to sleep, leaving it near the live coals 
to brown and keep warm for our morning meal. It was 
fat, tender and sweet, just such a treat as you know 
we cow-hunters get on our trips, out of the deer and the 
turkeys that fall in our way. We had gathered in turns 
of lightwood before it was cleverly dark, so as to have a 
light to see how to get off in the early morning before 
it was light. We were careful enough not to build a fire 
that night, lest the blaze looming up might guide the 
hunting or straggling Indians to our camp. We all lay 
down early and slept sweetly, for we and our horses were 
very tired, having ridden fast all the day long. I got up 
very early in the morning. I was always, as I am now, an 
early riser, and tell my children that while I came very 
near losing my life by being an early bird (just the snap 
of a gun preventing), yet I owe my life today to being an 
early riser. As was my custom in camp always, I got 
up long before the rest, built a good lightwood fire, and 



112 History of Walton County. 

fed the horses. 1 was riding a young mare not used to 
the woods life, and she refused her morning meal, so I 
took her by the halter led her a little ways from the camp, 
and down the creek, to let her graze on the fresh grass 
there. Thomas Broxton was the next to get up, and 
went down to the ford of the creek for water. The rest 
were up, or in the act of getting up. It was a dark, 
damp, murky morning, as I stood holding my mare to 
graze. Below me, on the creek, I saw a flash and 
heard the snap of a g^n, I knew that it was the old fash- 
ioned flint and steel gun that always makes such fuss 
.hen it snaps, especially in a dark, quiet, still morning, 
hen a fellow was on the alert. No sooner seen and 
heard, than I cried with all the force of my voice, 'Snap, 
snap! gun snap!' Before these words were well out of 
my mouth, the men in camp were on their feet rushing 
for their guns, which had all been carefully stacked 
around a tree at their heads and well protected from the 
dampness of the night. Broxton from the ford came 
rushing down between me and the creek in the very direc- 
tion of the flash and snap, when I grabbed him from 
the dangers he was rushing into. There was snapping 
and flashing and firing and advancing all around the 
camp, and we could tell that some of our inen in the 
camps were firing from the report of the guns. Un- 
armed as we were, we saw that if we went to the camp 
to their help, it would but be goin^ straight to our death, 
so we sought shelter in the bed of the creek, that had a 
thick ti-ti growth along its banks. By the time we struck 
the stream, we heard a loud report from a gun that we 
knew to be Big John Anderson's, and I whispered to 
Broxton, "that is Big John's gun, and if it is in his hand, 
there is one dead Indian sure, for he never fails of his 



The Lotus Land. 113 

game when he pulls the trigger." The last gun fired ; then 
came the rush, the tramp of hasty footstens •» struggle, 
the sound of mighty blows being struck, then the loud 
Indian war-hoop is sounded again and again ; the horses 
all tore loose from their hitchings, and went in a mad 
rush, one after the other, across the ford of the creek near 
where we were, in its stream, on their way home. We 
knew there was no safety for us where we were, and I was 
no walker, and for me to try to hobble through the woods 
in the condition my feet were in, would be sure capture 
and death ; Broxton said he would not leave me, and our 
only place of safety was to move up the stream. While we 
were discussing this matter, two Indians came following 
the tracks of the horses with torchlights crossing the ford 
near were we were, and when they passed on, we moved 
at once up the stream in the darkness, which was slow 
travelling; sometimes the water would be up to our 
waists and then not more than knee deep. The unwel- 
come morning began to send its gray streaks around us ; 
we shuddered with cold and with suspense and fear and 
sorrow. And when the morning shed its light all around, 
and notwithstanding we had struggled hard against the 
current and quicksands, around the bends and crooks, 
we were but a little way from the ford and camp on a di- 
rect line ; heard every word spoken but could not under- 
stand their dialect. We ensconced ourselves beneath the 
thick ti-ti that overhung the banks and were as quiet as a 
brace of doves. When daylight fully lighted up all things 
around, the two Indians that went in pursuit of the horses 
came back, passed up to the camp, jabbered there a little, 
and we longed to know what they were saying, but could 
not understand a word. In a little while there came other 
little bands who went up and down on either side of the 



114 History of Walton County. 

creek a little ways, passing us, and then returned to 
the camp and made their report in a loud clear voice, but 
we could not understand their jargon. They ate their 
breakfast, faring sumptuously, we knew, for we had in 
our saddle-bags nearly a week's rations, besides the big 
fat cub of a bear we barbecued brown for their ravenous 
appetites. Breakfast through, they sent up another shout 
of victory, which was followed by their savage hum of 
sorrow, bemoaning their dead braves. As they hummed 
the death song, they silently stole away, and we could 
hear their footsteps tramp, tramp, tramp, growing less 
and less distinct, until the tramp and dirge song was lost 
to our ears, and all as silent as death, not even the chirp 
of a bird in the thickly woven branches above our heads, 
nor the flutter of a fish about our feet were heard. Si- 
lence reigned supreme around that sad gory camp. 

We reasoned together a little, and we were both of 
the opinion that when they failed to find our tracks, they 
came to the reasonable conclusion that I, who had my 
horse in hand when they first flashed and snapped, 
mounted there, and the other missing one, had mounted 
his, and we were gone off with the stampede, as there 
were no traces to be seen around the crossing or banks 
of the creek ; and that we might return in a short 
time with an avenging party of pale-faces. And this was 
what hurried them off so soon after they had breakfasted. 
So we moved up just a little ways where we could get out 
easily on to the east bank and with quiet steps and bated 
breath, we took a bee line course, through the woods, for 
our homes, never daring to look back until we had 
reached the top of the long hill we had to climb. There 
on its summit we stopped and looked back, and took one 
long searching view of all things in every direction. We 



The Lotus Land. 115 

neither saw nor heard anything out of the ordinary in na- 
ture, save the pale blue smoke as it slowly moved up that 
damp calm morning, above the pines into the skies, like 
unto the smoke of incense of old, to tell the story of that 
morning's sorrow to heaven ; and as it passed up, the 
tears of the clouds rolled down in sympathy upon the 
shimmering cheeks of the morning. As we stood there 
in silence, we imagined we could hear the blood of 
our comrades ringing in our ears, crying from the ground 
to high heaven for vengeance. We followed on as rap- 
idly as we could, which was slowly, only on account of 
my crippled condition. Finally we struck the road lead- 
ing to our homes, saw that all the horses had passed on 
in uncurbed haste. We had gone but a little way in the 
road when we met ten men mounted with guns. We 
told the sad story as it was, and they turned for home 
with us, and when our homes were reached, and the 
sorrowful story told to their loved ones and friends, 
there was a rapid running to and fro among the homes 
of the early settlers. A company of thirty-five brave men 
were formed, equipped and provisioned, led by Arch 
Justice as Captain, — a well known brave throughout the 
settlements, — a strong, quick, but deliberate man, who 
could see danger and knew how to meet it. Under the 
leadership of this man, we went on the war path to over- 
take the bloodthirsty Creek band. We came first to the 
fatal camp. There lies the dead bodies of our three friends 
near each other, and two Indian braves near them. A 
little way from the camp we find another Indian dead 
from a gun shot, and not far from this one lay another 
Indian with a hole through his head, made by the big bul- 
let of Big John Anderson's gun. Sure enough, as we 
hoped, that gun was in the hand of Big John when it fired 



116 History of Waltoxv County. 

that early morn, and he had his Indian. Nelson and 
Porter had gun shot wounds, but neither were danger- 
ous, — they were flesh wounds and not disabling, no bul- 
let had touched Big John. The mighty Scotchman lay 
there on his back with a great lightwood club in his right 
hand, beaten to death with clubs and guns ; by his side 
lay a great Indian, brained by the blows of that blud- 
geon clinched in Big John's hand. We were satisfied 
that our men reached their guns and fired every gun from 
behind trees that stood around the camp and drove back 
the first charge, and while they were loading, the Indians 
rushed on them and they lost their lives in the club fight. 
While our men had the advantage of the trees, the In- 
dians had the advantage of the fire light of the camp. 
The damp night must have put the Indians' guns in bad 
fix for firing, from the snapping they did. We took these 
brave bodies and gave them as decent a burial as we 
could in an oak grove not far from the place where they 
fought so bravely, around which the modest violets are 
blooming there in the wild woods, and the moan of the 
tall pines through the music of their straws, together 
with the soft murmuring of the gentle flowing Gum 
Creek, make their dirge song. 

And then we hasten close on the tracks of the re- 
treating Indians. We overtook, surrounded and gave bat- 
tle to them on a little creek not far from where it emptied 
into Shoal River, below the Cawthon ford, called ever 
after that "Battle Creek," on account of the battle we had 
that day with the Indians. We killed, or wounded and 
captured, all these braves and some women and children 
they had along with them. We sent them with the 
wounded and squaws with their children to Pensacola. 
We never lost a man. Trye Adkinson, father of our JeflF 




1. WILLIAM CAWTHON. 
3. J. B. CAWTHONt 



2. W. J. D. CAWTHON. 



The Lotus Land. 117 

Adkinson on Alaqiia, was a lieutenant in this Justis com- 
pany." 

Now this is the story of this massacre, the opening 
wedge that brought on the Indian War in Walton, which 
made that sad epoch in the lives of the pioneers of Wal- 
ton, as told by one who knew it better than any other 
living man at that day. Broxton lived to i ripe old age 
in that part of Walton which went to make Holmes 
County, and raised a large interesting family who are 
with us today. 



n 



118 History of Walton County. 

THIRD LPOCH. 

Chapter XIV. 

The Creek War in Walton. 

The Indian War of 1836-37 in Florida, and known as 
the Seminole War, ought to be called the Creek War of 
West Florida, where Walton was the great battle ground, 
for it was brought on and fought in the main by the 
Creek Indians in this section, and we beliove if it had not 
been for them, the Seminole would never have suffered 
the war to have extended into West Florida. When the 
Seminole War progressed in the East ard Middle Flor- 
ida, the Creeks commenced their raids down in South 
Alabama and the West Florida counties, ind it was close 
on the heels of these massacres mentioned above that 
the war in Walton began. 

Colonel John L. McKinnon was the tanking military 
officer in this part of the State. Colonel (ieorge Hawkins 
of Marianna, Colonel of a regiment that fought in Walton, 
and was wounded in a battle at the block house near the 
mouth of Big Alaqua. Captain Lochli i McKinnon of 
Walton commanded a company of Scolch State troops 
in this war, and Captain Donald McLeoc , afterwards ap- 
pointed Colonel of militia, commanded another company 
of Scotch pioneers. There were several small battles 
fought here. The biggest battle fought in Walton was 
just a little South of the "Cow-pens," now known as An- 
tioch, in and around Battle Bay. The Indians had col- 
lected there in numbers. The whites surrounded tlieni 
and tried to drive them out or force th<-m to surrender. 
They were repulsed several times. 



The Lotus Land. 119 

The white troops knew that the Indians were short of 
provisions, as they were themselves. On the evening of 
the second day's siege, some of the white troops entered 
the Northern part of the bay and gave battle, while others 
kept guard around. A severe battle ensued, several killed 
and wounded on both sides. The Indians were routed 
and captured and sent to Pensacola. At the close of the 
battle it was found that Enos Evans, a br.ive young man, 
was shot down in the charge in the bay and left for dead. 
Colonel McKinnon, with a guard of men, went into the 
bay, found him alive, but severely wounded and in great 
pain. There was no infirmary corps in -ihose days, fol- 
lowing up the battles with litters and ambulances to 
take off the dead and wounded. So Colonel McKinnon 
had this wounded soldier, weighing 175 pounds, placed 
on his shoulders and he brought him oui: of the swamp 
to the open piney woods, where his horse stood. Colonel 
McKinnon was 6 feet, 6 inches high, his weight hardly 
every varying from 185 pounds, large bones and sinews, 
no surplus flesh whatever on him. In his prime he was 
considered the strongest Scotchman of tlie clan, not ex- 
cepting Neill and Lochlin McLendon. His greatest 
strength lay in his arms and the grip of his big hands. 
Men are living today, Captain A. B. McLeod for one, who 
saw him wring the legs off of a five year old beef steer 
without a knife touching the joints. This Colonel took 
the wounded Evans before him on h«s big horse and 
carried him eight miles that night to his (the Colonel's) 
home, changing from his to Angus McDonald's big 
horse as they seemed to grow tired under their heavy 
load of human flesh. When they reached his home they 
laid him on a bed and he was in great pain. No doctor 
in the country, he probed for the bullet, found it lodged 



120 History of Walton County. 

against his spinal column, and cut through his flesh, 
making an incision three inches deep with his sharp 
pocket knife, and took it out, and Evans got easy and 
well in a little while, and always spoke of the Colonel 
as his doctor and the best surgeon in the land. 

There were not a great many lives lost in this war in 
Walton. It was a war of raids and destruction of prop- 
erty. It was a war of dreadful suspense, especially with 
the dear women. For the better part of two years they 
did not know when the Indians would be upon them to 
kill and burn. I often heard my dear mother say that 
she never lived in such suspense as she did during these 
two years, not even in the Civil War, which was very 
much like this Indian War in the last raiding years. The 
Indians would send raiding bands into the settlement, 
the women would flee from their homes with their chil- 
dren, all collecting at some one home. My dear mother's 
home was the city of refuge for those living South of 
Bruce Creek, and "Corn" Campbell's for those on the 
North side of the valley. On one occasion when they 
came, she. my mother, had two little Indian boys about 
ten years old whom my father had taken in battle. Wal- 
ton's army was cut ofif from Pensacola by the Indians on 
the bay, and they could not send the prisoners down as 
the government required, so these boys were kept in our 
home for a number of months. They were exceedingly 
friendly and helpful around the home, especially in tend- 
ing the cows with the milk-maids night and morning. 
They learned to talk English and became interesting pets 
in the family and hated to leave when the time came to 

On one occasion, when the families came in for pro- 
tection, there was an old Scotch lady that could speak no 



The Lotus Land. 131 

English, who was very much wrought up on account of 
being driven from her home by the Indians coming on 
them. She vented her spleen in abusing my father for 
bringing the Indian boys home, said, "it was their being 
there that caused them to come up into the settlements 
and that he ought to have killed them and left them in the 
woods." She said further, "that we ought to take them 
now and put them to death." My mother listened as long 
as she was willing, to hear the abuse of her husband 
without saying anything, and she too her guest, seeking 
the protection of her home, guarded well by her negro 
men against any ordinary raid of Indians. Then she 
turned to her and asked "Could you kill such innocent lit- 
tle boys as these?" The old Scotch lady replied "Yes I 
can." My mother knew that the old lady had a better 
heart in her than that, and put her to the test. She 
handed her my father's old sword and told her to do the 
work. Although the little Indian boys did not understand 
the Gaelic language they spoke in, they knew what the 
unsheathed sword meant, and they ran to my mother 
for their lives and clung to her as dear children. This 
scene scared the old Scotch lady and that put an end to 
the abuse. 

Sometimes false alarms would drive them from their 
homes to this place of refuge, but the scare was as se- 
vere as if it had been real, the suspense as great in one 
case as in the other. 

Just before the commencement of this war there 
moved a family of Pippins from Georgia into Mossy Bend, 
and when the war was practically over there came an- 
other family by the name of Coopers from the same 
neighborhood in Georgia, who were friends of the Pip- 
pins, and became their close neighbors. The mother 



133 History of Walton County. 

Pippin, old Aunt Lavicey, and her girls, were very much 
amused at the old Scotchmen and women talking the 
Gaelic language, and they amused themselves often in 
the evenings by trying to imitate them, and they were 
very loud mouthed. One evening when they were in 
one of their biggest glees, the Coopers heard them trying 
to mimic the Scotch, and thought it was the Indians 
murdering the Pippins, and fled from their homes, told 
the neighbors as they went that the Pippins were being 
murdered by the Indians, that they heard the Indians 
talking, laughing and rejoicing over their killing them. 
Homes were all abandoned, women and children all flee- 
ing to the place of safety, men gathering and preparing 
to fight the Indians anew. Quite a large company of 
ready men organized and moved to drive the savages 
from the settlements, and when they reached the Pip- 
pin home, found them all safe and in good humor, won- 
dering what had become of so many of their neighbors. 
This was the greatest panic of the war, it gave severe 
imaginary trouble to the settlers. 

Their Coming and Going. 

When these blood-thirsty warriors came into Walton 
to war, they marched down west of DeFuniak Springs by 
way of the Sandy Mountains, and took possession of the 
bay country and controlled the great inland water-way 
that connected Story's Landing with Pensacola. They 
had allies in Pensacola among the Spanish and Seminole 
non-combatants, through whom they were able to get 
supplies of ammunition and provisions. The Walton 
troops were able to keep the body of them confined to 
that bay country, but had to stay on the grounds all the 



The Lotus Land. 123 

time. And they, towards the end, succeeded in breaking 
up their line of communication with Pensacola and cut- 
ting off their suppHes, which was the main cause of their 
withdrawal. Soon after they left here there was an in- 
crease in the Indian army in the Middle and East Flor- 
idas, and it is thought that when the body of them with- 
drew, they joined the army east of Walton. Governor 
R. K. Call sent orders to Colonel McKinnon to equip 
and mount a company of his best men and have them 
report to him on a certain day for service, that the In- 
dians had re-inforcement from some source. The order 
was promptly obeyed. Years afterwards, in the fifties, 
when I was a lad of twelve years, I went with my father 
to Tallahassee. We were invited, with other gentlemen, 
to Governor Call's home. As old soldiers ever did and 
ever will, they commenced talking about old times, war 
times. Governor Call told the story of calling on Col- 
onel McKinnon for the mounted troops and the day came 
and he had heard nothing from him, but still expressed a 
belief that they would come. And on the early morning 
of the next day they reported to him at his home. He 
said "I went out and greeted a fine looking company 
of men, gave them quarters in the grove in rear of the 
home, ordered feed for their horses, and provisions for 
themselves, and told them that as soon as they got 
through with their breakfast to make ready to join the 
command in waiting. In a little while the orderly of the 
company reported to me that one of their horses, be- 
longing to Pool, had broken his neck. I went out (he 
showed us the tree and how he was tied) and found the 
fine horse with neck broken in the simplest way I ever 
saw, tripped with a small tie-rein. I saw the tears run- 
ning down the young man's cheeks ; I spoke to him and 



124 History of Walton County, 

told him I would make that all right. I went to the sale 
stable and bought him a better horse and they joined the 
command, and there was no delay by the accident." 

Angus Douglass, my vmcle. and Giles and Jim Bowers, 
James McLean and Kenneth McCaskill. John and Angus 
Campbell, and a great many who lived and died in Wal- 
ton, belonged in that company. Though a boy then, I 
remember how proud I was when that great, good man, 
complimented my father and his other guests on the 
valiant work of the Walton boys, and I resolved then 
if I ever were a soldier boy I would try and be as valiant. 

The Residue of Indians. 

Long after the war proper closed in Walton, there re- 
mained several small bands of Indians along the bay coast 
that gave much trouble to persons and property, rob- 
bing homes and killing stock and driving them away. 
They claimed that they were friendly and only remained 
for the wood's game. 

The United States Government established a mail 
route from Tallahassee to Town Point, across the bay 
from Pensacola, along the old Jackson military road that 
ran parallel with the inland water way along the island 
and bay. No one lived along this way, so the contractor, 
Big Daniel Anderson, had to build station houses for the 
postman to lodge in for the night and places to feed their 
horses in passing. These were often robbed of their 
scanty furnishings by these Indian hunters. One of 
these houses stood just back of Mary Esther. Daniel 
M. McLean was carrier at one time and he stopped at 
this station for the night. It was a bright moon-light 
night, when he awoke just before day, looked out on the 



The Lotus Land. 135 

porch of the shanty, and there lay two great warrior 
Indians sound asleep, with their accoutrements buckled 
around them. He quietly slipped out at the back door 
with his mail bags, saddled his horse, mounted and got 
away from there in quick time. This broke up the mail 
carrying on that line for a while. 

Old Joe. 

There was quite a noted band called the "Old Joe's 
Band" that roamed from St. Josephs to East Pass. They 
were the terror of this country for years, and were hard to 
come up with. They were quick, sharp, and fierce. They 
did nothing in the open. There were never more than 
three or four of them on a raid. The territory that 
they roamed through was full of game. Bread was the 
only food they raided for, and they used but very little 
of that. They were so very savage that the whites tried 
to exterminate them or drive them to their nation. In 
1849 there lived on the Valley in Mossy Bend a man by 
the name of Kage King, a low stout built man, weigh- 
ing 175 pounds, mighty in strength, a great wrestler and 
jumper of that day. It was this man King who struck 
the blow that drove from Walton the last vestige of In- 
dians, and we have been free from them ever since. My 
younger brother, A. D. McKinnon, and I were going to 
school in Mossy Bend, when news came in that part of 
the Valley, that Kage King had killed Old Joe. The 
people were all astir at this report, and it was all the talk. 
The evening after the news reached the Bend, we boys 
were passing on from school, and as we were passing our 
Aunt's, Mrs. McRae, our cousin Christian called to U3 
to come in and hear Kage King tell the story of killing 



126 History of Walton County. 

Old Joe. Of course we boys went in and we all sat in 
that big open gallery in the big new house, and were as 
still as mice, while he told this thrilling story. 

"I went over to St. Josephs to do some trading, re- 
turning with my pack on my back. On entering a swamp 
out from and opposite to St. Andrews Bay, at the crack 
of a rifle, the pack strapped to my back was struck. Look- 
ing back I saw a giant of an Indian running for me, load- 
ing his gun as he came. I thought, at sight, it was Old Joe, 
and so it was. I ran on the trail way for dear life, — he 
was gaining on me, — I dodged him at a crook in the 
trail, and secreted myself, and he passed me a little 
ways. I tried to shoot, but my gun failed me. I dropped 
it and my pack, ran into a pond of water full of cypress 
knees on its edge, which was near by. I went in waist 
deep, sank down on the opposite side of a cypress knee 
from the trail in the midst of "alligator bonnets on 
water lilies," with nothing but my mouth and nose 
above the water, and remained as still as I could. In 
a little while he found that I had dodged him, and 
he came back. I could hear his footsteps tramping 
among the leaves and going around the pond. When 
he was on the opposite side of the pond he discov- 
ered my face above water and fired at me. missing 
me just a little. I knew this was no place for me. 
I at once jumped up, made for the trail, and ran with 
all the might that was in me. He, having used his 
last load, threw down his gun and came in hot pursuit 
after me. I kept my distance pretty well at the first, but 
could not hold out as he. I could feel that he was gaining 
on me, so I stopped at a turn of the trail behind a large 
tree just on the trail that I might rest and blow and be 
ready for him when he came up. He hardly passed me 



The; Lotus Land. 127 

before he saw I had stopped. He turned, saw me, made 
for me with nothing in his hands. I struck him in the 
forehead with my belt knife and broke it. We hitched. I 
threw him easily but could not hold him down. He would 
get up and I would down him again. He seemed to be 
as much, or more worried than I was. We had it up and 
down that way for a long time. Finally I threw him, 
tried to hold him down while I would get my big jack- 
knife from my pocket to use it on him, but found that I 
needed all the hands I had to handle him. Instead of 
getting up as before on his feet, when he rolled me 
off, he rolled on top of me to keep me down, while he 
rested and panted. While I feigned an effort to roll 
him off of me, I pulled my big jack-knife from my pocket, 
opened it with my teeth, made a desperate struggle, 
drove my knife into his side, and disboweled him. He 
rose to his feet, uttered a loud war-cry, and sank to the 
ground. This war-cry was answered in the distance. 
He sat a few feet from me looking at me, but not able to 
move. I sat panting and resting in quiet too, when his 
distress cry was more fully answered by the coming of a 
tall slender brave, one of his sons, running up to us. I 
had my knife opened for him, but when the old hero 
saw him coming he cried in his Indian language, — and I 
shall never forget the words, (he repeats them) and I 
have learned since I came home that they meant in our 
language, "Flee for your life, pale face is too much for 
you." In an instant he turned and did run for his life, 
and I was glad, yes, I was glad when he turned. I gath- 
ered up my pack and gun and came on my way thank- 
fully. 

"It was deep dark when I reached Story's Landing. 
I came over and was glad I was at home again. On ex- 



128 History of Walton County. 

amining my pack we found one hundred and twenty holes 
through the bolt of calico. I knew I left the old giant 
breathing his last. I know he is dead. I don't know 
what will become of his body. I told the story as I 
passed on homeward. Men went to protecting their 
homes from his sons." 

The writer spent the night not long ago with a man 
that lived near the ground of this deed, and who helped 
to bury Old Joe the day after the fight. David Tervin, 
uncle of our F. Q. Tervin, was among those that placed 
him under the ground, and was one of those who drove 
the remaining ones from the country, which was easily 
done after the death of their leader. His story of re- 
moving them is very interesting. They say he had three 
of his sons with him on that occasion, but they happened 
to be scattered at that time. 



The Lotus Land. 129 



Chapter XV. 



Intervening Times Between the Two Wars. 

After the close of this Indian War it took but little 
time to build up the waste places and for prosperity to 
crown the efforts of honest labor. I say without fear of 
contradiction that from 1840 to 1860, there was no coun- 
try of Walton's area whose people were more happy and 
contented, more healthy and strong, more advanced in 
the tenets of true religion and culture, that comes more 
abundantly through advanced religious education, that 
there were no better livers and helpers of others, and a 
no more prosperous, in material wealth, in proportion 
to the money currency used in carrying on the great com- 
merce of the country, than the people of this little bit 
of territory, — no, not even in this strenuous age of "get 
rich quick." Mind, I say, taking into consideration the 
common circulating medium in carrying on commerce. 
No one here in these times was trying to get rich, but 
everybody ever growing richer year by year. There were 
no strenuous efforts being put forth after the goods of 
the world, but everybody moving on in an industrious, 
simple, way, were gathering the world's goods about 
them. The resources of the country, the wealth that 
came so readily to the call of labor in those days, did 
not make drones or idlers of the people, but made them 
respondent to duty's call. Sometimes when I look back- 
ward to those old days, I find myself hungering after 
them, and the good, honest simple people that lived in 
them. They are not all gone. The seed is not all wasted. 



130 History of Walton County. 

now and then you come up with a "chip off of the old 
block." 

The scarcity of money was seldom thought of or dis- 
cussed in those days. The people had learned how to do 
a great deal of work and carry on considerable commerce 
with but little money. There was a little bank in Pen- 
sacola, and one in Tallahassee, and not more than one 
third of the people knew of these banks of deposits and 
never sought any benefits from them. Think for a mo- 
ment how the banks are scattered around us now, and 
hear the cry of hard times and no money. 

We think we need more money to live well and hap- 
pily than we really do, and these founders of Walton 
County have fully demonstrated this truth, for they were 
thrifty and happy when they handled but little money. 
But, of course, they did not live in this great accommo- 
dating age, "this age of paper sacks and free delivery, of 
free lunch and cold drinks — in those days of leaving the 
farms in the hands of tenants and flocking to the towns." 
We will learn after a while that these free luxuries are 
the most expensive and call for the most of our money, 
that we claim is so scarce. 

For a long time there was not a store of merchandise 
in all Walton. After Euchee Anna was started, several 
stores were started up there, but it was a long time be- 
fore there was a store kept there regularly. Giles Bow- 
ers, in partnership with Ramsey, opened up a little store 
on the bay, or on Four Mile Creek, and not far from its 
mouth, and called the place "Genoa." They ran business 
there but a little while when some one entered the land 
on which their store was built, and this broke up their 
business. Colonel McKinnon, father-in-law of Bowers, 
went to Tallahassee and bought forty acres just below 



The Lotus Land. 131 

Genoa, on the same creek, which offered a much better 
place for a town than Genoa did. He took his negro hands 
cleared off the banks of the creek, trimmed up the place 
for the town, and named it "Freeport", and then cut a 
broad straight road from Freeport through the "Three 
Mile Branches," causewaying them good, on into the 
Euchee Anna and Mossy Bend roads, making a direct 
route to this new place. 

Giles Bowers was the first to build a store and start 
up a mercantile business there. Jesse McCullough built 
a store between these two places and for a long time these 
two stores, with the one at Euchee Anna, were the only 
trading places in the County. This was in the late '40's. 
Before this time, and long afterwards, the farmers and 
stock men would go regularly twice a year to Pensacola 
on the slow sailing boats and buy a supply of groceries 
that they could not grow, sacks of salt and coffee, barrels 
of flour, kegs of nails, and tobacco, spices and ginger. 
The small families that could not go would send by these 
and have their wants attended to. They would exchange 
their produce for these, often getting a bushel of coffee 
for a bushel of white lady peas. And these things were 
about all they needed, the rest was made at home. 

Our children of today ask in astonishment, how in the 
world did they live well, where did they get any luxu- 
ries, or find any pleasure, how did they accumulate any 
property at all? They made a living at home and did not 
have to worry after money for everything. Their ta- 
bles were always spread with the most palatable, whole- 
some and luxurious viands. These of themselves were 
accumulations of pleasure, that paved the way to accu- 
mulations in material property. And I do know that these 
people in their intercourse, especially the younger people, 



132 History of Walton County. 

had the most innocent, joyous, health-giving pleasures 
of any people of this age. Their easy manner of ac- 
cumulating wealth, the abundance of their tables, and 
unspeakable pleasures, are something to be coveted, to 
be sought after by this generation. 

Mr. John McCullough is somewhat of an old timer in 
letting his mind go back in remembrance of the "good old 
days." It may do some one good to hear him do a little 
plain talking and illustrating. His talk did me good, 
gave me better ideas why things are like they are. I was 
waiting on him some time ago in the store, it was the end 
of the month and he was laying in quite a supply of fam- 
ily groceries and camp equipage, I laying them out in 
order at one end of the counter as he made the purchases. 
When he was through and was making ready to place 
his goods on the wagon, I, knowing what he was get- 
ting per day for his two teams, said to him, "John, you 
must be making good money now with your teams, you 
pay out nothing for drivers, you drive one yourself and 
your son the other?" He said "It does look so. I get $6.00 
each day for running my teams for Beach and Rogers and 
can get the money every Saturday night." I said "That 
is $36.00 per week, and four times that is $144.00 per 
month, and twelve times that is $1,728.00 per year. You 
can't help but be making good money." "But I am not," 
he said, "I am not doing near so well as when I ran a 
little farm before the war and had my little bunch of cat- 
tle, my hogs, sheep, and goats around me on the rich 
range grass the year round. When I made everything I 
needed at home, or got it out of the woods ; nor as much 
as I made running my little schooner down the bay with 
loads of wood or Lumber to Pensacola. See this axe 
handle? (Picking up each article that he had just bought 



I 



The Lotus Land. 133 

as he spoke of them) I paid 15 cents for it, — this pair of 
ox-bows I paid 50 cents for those, — this box of axle grease 
10 cents for this, — these six bars of soap 25 cents, — this 
box of baking powders 10 cents, this plug of tobacco, with 
this pretty tag on it, 15 cents, — these shoes in this pretty 
box $2.25 for these (and he went on to the end of his pur- 
chase.) Now, before the war, when I was on the farm, 
I don't consider these things cost me a cent, save the 
tobacco and shoes, and that was not much. On rainy 
days I would slip into the hammocks and get timber and 
make handles and bows that were worth two of these. 
When on a hunt, would take ax and tubs and cut on the 
oak ridges wood, and pile in heaps and put fire to it and 
when the hunt was over would have enough of oak 
ashes to make lye soap enough to last a year, and it would 
make the dirt slip, and not eat up your cloth like this lye 
and soap of today. When hauling up our winter light- 
wood, I would pick out the fattest pieces and run lubri- 
cating tar that would preserve the hubs of my wagons, 
and better in every way than axle grease. But these 
didn't come on the railroad and in pretty round boxes. 
neither did the shoes come in pretty boxes, nor the to- 
bacco in caddies with pretty tags on every plug. My 
father, when he sold goods got all his shoes, men's wo- 
men's, boy's and children's, in one big white pine box 
and they were better and cheaper than these. He got his 
tobacco in big boxes, long thick plugs, but no pretty 
tags. I heard Jim Driggers (a negro) tell you the other 
day if he was to carry a pair of shoes home without a 
box, his wife would run him off the place. That is the 
way with us all now, men and women, we want every- 
thing tagged up, flashy labels, well varnished, round and 
square boxed, paper sacked, and it must come on the 



134 History of Walton County. 

railroad; so we have to work and pay all these fellows 
for these fancy cuts before we make anything for our- 
selves. And we are fools enough to think we are getting 
our paper sacks, free delivery, and pretty things for 
nothing. 

''Pent up like I am here, I get no benefits from na- 
ture's bounties. There is nothing growing for me while 
I sleep. All I get now comes from my own exertions, 
and so much of it goes to others that there is but little 
left for me. I am longing for the country home, the farm 
life, as it used to be, where I can sleep in and breathe 
God's pure uncontaminated air, and work in his sunshine, 
where I can eat my fresh cornbread, potatoes and veg- 
etables of all varieties that grow while I am sleeping, 
the juicy peach, the sugar fig, and the plump plum, fresh 
from the limbs, and the luscious grapes from the vine, and 
eat our fresh butter, sweet milk and home made cheese, 
which is far better than any bought cheese ever made, 
eat our own fresh uncooped chickens and eggs, biscuits 
made up with buttermilk and salaratus, without any of 
these concoctions in pretty round boxes called baking 
powders, to burn out our stomachs. How I long for the 
hot grated potato-pone, spiced up and baked just as my 
good old mother used to make and serve it with fresh 
home-made butter, this best of breads that we never see 
now-a-days. And there is the hog's head cheese or souse, 
sausages, opossum and potatoes, "crackling bread" and 
sassafras tea for supper, and ever so many other good 
tilings we had in the good old times that we never see now 
in town. O, how I do long for the old bread and butter 
days of long ago. the old unforgettable days before the 
war. the farm life, the old home, the living we used to 
have tliere, the country pleasure life. Give me these and 



The Lotus Land, 135 

you may have the canned goods, cold drinks, moldy vege- 
tables and fruits, paper sacks and free delivery, and the 
strenuous city life and wear out yourselves working for 
others, while I'll plod along in that simple, independent 
way on the farm, taking my cold drinks from the old 
oaken bucket that hangs in the well." We must admit 
that there is lots of truth in the above statement, com- 
ing as it does from one who has served in both ages. 

There is no doubt but that the years between the two 
sad epochs of Walton's history were her best, and the 
most accumulative in material, as well as in the higher 
order of life, — the mind and soul. And these riches 
were not acquired by the handling of an abundance of 
the currency of the country, but by using and conserving 
nature's oflferings in a way, — they grew on these while 
they slept. 

In those days there were owners of large and small 
stocks of cattle and sheep. Some of these stock men 
marked from 25. to 50 head of calves each spring, others 
from 300 to 500 head. These all fed together over the 
same range. They were hunted, driven up to mark and 
gentle at the same time, which was the biggest attention 
they got. These cattle had thousands of acres, that were 
not scorched to death by fires, to feed over. 

These men tried to protect the range all they could 
from the ravages of fire, and kept good blood in their 
stock. Colonel McKinnon sent to Scotland and had 
shipped to him by way of Pensacola a young short 
horned durham of the finest stock in Scotland ; he 
weighed 1,000 pounds dressed when grown. This brought 
the grade of his stock up very much, especially the beef 
part of it, that was the most profitable in those days. 

At first these cattle men lost much by the ferocious 



136 History of Walton County. 



% 



beast that claimed the woods, the bear, the wolf, and the 
panther. These got at first some of their calves, but they 
got in dogs and hunted and killed a great many of them 
out. Every family had their faithful yard dog, their ver- 
min and deer dog; and every stockman had, in addition, 
his cow dog, his bear dog, his wolf dog. and his cur, 
these numbering from five to ten in each family, and 
even with all these, it took a long time to stop the in- 
crease of these animals. 

After the cattle were breeded up and got the run of 
the good range for a while, weighing from 500 pounds 
to 700 pounds, it is strange to say there were hardly any 
losses of calves from these savage carnivorous animals. 
With their growth in better blood and larger limbs, they 
seemed to come to a better instinct, or a kind of reason- 
ing, or understanding among themselves for the protec- 
tion of their young and helpless. The mother cows would 
hide their calves together in the midst of the scrub pal- 
metto beds that grew around the heads of branches and 
range bottoms, or they would hide them, when it suited 
them, in the long grass in the dimple of the hills ; and 
the mother with the great steers and durhams would feed 
around these places, keeping watch all the days and 
nights, and at first sound of distress, there would be a 
ready united rush of these watchers, with their great 
spear like horns, to drive away the intruder. These wild 
animals become as much frightened at these cattle as 
they were of the men with their guns and dogs ; so it 
was almost sure that they would raise a calf from every 
cow every year or two. They lost none then as they 
do now. in the boggy branches, for they were thatched 
over with cane roots and turf that made it impossible for 
a cow to break through. So the man that had a good 



The Lotus Land. 137 

big stock of cattle had a bank that multiplied and doubled 
in interest, with but little expense. How these cattle 
men did hate the straggling fire fiend that went through 
their range with matches, dropping a live one here and 
there just to see a big fire in the woods. 

I remember the first box of matches I ever saw, — it 
cost 25 cents. I thought they were the greatest thing in 
the world, and how I was astonished one day when a boy 
in the woods with my father, when we came up on an 
indifferent straggling hunter as he dropped a lighted 
match along his trail, just to see the woods burn. My 
father explained to him the damage he had done for the 
little bit of passing pleasure he claimed it was to him. 
And when, as we passed on, he turned to me and said, 
"I wish there was not a match in the world, they are a 
curse in our land, they are too handy in the hands of evil 
doers." It was this speech of his that astonished me. 
I would think how the neighbors in the settlement would 
have to run from house to house before daylight to get 
fire, when the covered coals on their hearth had burned 
out, — how the smokers would have to carry their tinder 
in their little horns, and with their flint and steel would 
have to strike fire to light their pipes from the bits of 
lighted tinder; and how in damp weather it was almost 
impossible to get fire in this way. 

Many destructive fires are kindled by these plentiful 
matches of today in the mouths of the mischievous rat, 
and many kindled to his credit of which he is guiltless. 

These cattle men would turn their beef into money 
every fall. They would not think of selling beeves under 
400 or 500 pounds. There was no local demand for them, 
for every one raised his own meat. There would come 
in buyers, and some would sell at home and get good 



138 History of Walton County. 

prices. Those that had large stocks would drive them 
in bunches of from 150 to 200 head to the markets. My 
father always drove his to market in great bunches, to 
Pensacola, Mobile, Montgomery, Eufaula, and Colum- 
bus, Georgia, and got the highest market prices for them, 
having them engaged by the pound before driving them, 
at 3 1-2 and 4 cents. 

He raised a colt from a Spanish mare, Dolly, that he 
bought in Pensacola, the colt's sire was his big black 
stallion that he drove out when he came first to Walton, 
and as he was the son of Jack, he called him Jack-son. 
The colt took after its mother, — he was a beautiful pied 
family horse, worked anywhere, was better under the 
saddle than anywhere else. He was my father's "wood's 
horse," and none could excel him after cows. He lived 
to be 26 years old and was never sick. My father rode 
him in the woods regularly for 20 years. My sisters rode 
or drove him regularly when he was not on the cow hunt. 
He was a great pacer, a good walker. He in his color 
of white and brown was as familiar to the cattle in the 
woods as he was to the children in the home. Everybody 
in the country knew old Jackson as far as they could see 
him, knew his pace, knew his walk, knew his color . 

In driving these bunches of beef cattle, my father al- 
ways went in the lead of them and they would follow 
old Jackson wherever he went, coming to a stream that 
had to be swum, my father took Jackson by the bridle, 
got in the hinder part of a skiff, had some one to pull the 
boat across in the direction he wanted to go, Jackson 
would swim right after the boat, and the cattle right 
after Jackson, without fuss or trouble, until all were 
safely across. 



The Lotus Land. 139 



Chapter XVI. 

Ferocious Animals. 

In the scores of years between the two sad epochs, 
there was a wonderful increase in stock in Walton, es- 
pecially in cattle. Allen Hart, Colonel McKinnon, the 
Cawthons, Bowers, Caswells, Evans, Campbells, Mc- 
Donalds, were among the biggest stock raisers. Other 
stock did not increase so fast. They had more fearless 
enemies, and were more defenseless. The wolf came 
twice and took sheep from the pen in the night time, 
when we were keeping ever so many dogs. I remember 
when the wolves would gather on the hills, just beyond 
our home, and howl there, and our dogs would answer 
them with their howls. 

There was a branch between our home and the sheep 
range, and one Saturday evening there came a big rain 
and the branch was swollen so we could not get the sheep 
over, and next morning we found 16 of them dead beyond 
the branch, close together on the road. The wolves cut 
their throats, sucked their blood, and left them there. 

Had it not been for such enemies as these, the sheep 
and hogs would have increased as rapidly as the cattle. 
The hogs that kept out of the paws of the bear and wolves 
were always fat in the woods, off of the abundance of 
mast and berries. They would often come running home 
in the day, from these beasts, and lie around the house 
for a day or two before venturing out. The families 
raised all they needed for home use around their homes, 
weighing out of the woods 300 to 400 pounds. But they 



140 History of Walton County. 

could not dare go out in the big range to get food that 
was wasting there. 

The writer was in Choctawhatchie swamp not long 
ago and saw a bunch of big red fat hogs that would have 
weighed 400 pounds, feeding on overcup-acorns that a 
recent flood in the river had piled up in great heaps 
against fallen timber. There is no trouble now for 
the farmer, along that water way to raise all the pork he 
wants, if he will give them attention enough to keep them 
gentle. It is better now than it was in the early days on 
account of the destruction of the wild beasts, especially 
the alligator. I don't suppose there was ever a country 
in which they were as plentiful and as large as they were 
in this Choctawhatchie country. I went down the river 
once to Point Washington. They had every 100 yards 
" so what we call "gator slides", and as we oared along 
these great gators would roll down these slides into the 
water like the launching of some large boat. Mr. Wm. 
McCullough killed one at Bay View, dried his carcass 
with its great mouth open, and I often placed my foot on 
his lower jaw and ran my knee under his upper jaw. I 
was sitting in the hinder part of a big sized skiff boat 
steering, while a negro boy was pulling me through La- 
grange Bayou on a dark night, when we ran upon a 
large gator that struck the bow of the boat a heavy blow, 
which came near turning us out into that muddy water 
to take common lot with his alligatorship. When he 
struck, be blowed and filled the air with his musk and 
sickened me. 

Dickson Jones, the father of our Mrs, Calvin Johnson 
of DeFuniak Springs, was wading across the mouth of a 
bayou near Freeport when a large gator lunged upon 
him, catching him by the calf of the leg, jerking and pul- 



The Lotus Land. 141 

ling him into deeper water, while he struggled and hol- 
lowed for life, trying to get loose. When he had pulled 
him in until nothing but his head was above water, he 
cried out, **0 God save me !" and the gator let him go. 
The flesh he left on his leg perished away and he was 
a cripple the balance of his life. I heard him tell his ex- 
perience in that trying hour, and it was interesting. The 
savage beasts seemed to grow more daring and aggres- 
sive as civilization pressed upon them. I remember on 
one occasion when we school children, seven of us, large 
and small, were going to school one morning from the 
"Old Place" to Hickory Spring School, the little ones on 
horseback, the larger ones walking, we came to the head 
of a branch that made close up to the road, and about half 
way between home and the school Jaouse on the Mossy 
Bend and Freeport road. Around this head was a broad 
bed of scrub palmettoes ; in the midst of this bed were 
two large mother bears, six large cubs about as large as 
the common dog of today. They were pulling up pal- 
metto roots with their paws and would sit on their 
haunches eating off the tender parts of them, while they 
looked at us, as indifYerent as though we were some of 
themselves. The larger boys took the horses, one going 
back home with the news, the other onward for the hun- 
ters and their dogs. And those of us walking went on to 
the school, leaving these fearless bears to finish their 
breakfast of palmetto buds undisturbed. The hunters 
were soon on the ground on horseback with guns, dogs, 
and blowing horns. The dogs were turned loose on their 
fresh tracks at the head of the branch described, on the 
right hand side of the road as you go to Mossy Bend. 
The hunters went down on either side of the branch, 
keeping up with the dogs as they went on the tracks. 



142 History of Walton County. 

making the welkin ring with such music as you never 
hear in these days. Before they reached the mouth of the 
branch where it emptied into the Seven Runs Creek in 
the thickets of the swamp, they came up with the savage 
creatures recruited by three papa bears, and right there 
the battle of the day was fought. At times it was doubt- 
ful which side would win. Victory came at last to the 
hunters towards evening, with heavy losses on both sides. 
It was both difficult and dangerous for the hunters to 
help the dogs with their guns. The ti-ti bushes were so 
thick they would have to use their hands in parting the 
way and take chances of seeing and shooting the bears 
before they would see them, lest they would see them 
first and rush upon them before they got ready for shoot- 
ing, or their guns failed to fire. Several dogs kept a great 
bear at bay for several hours in a very thick place. At 
last they heard a dog squall and smothering as though 
his breath was being squeezed out of him. All knew that 
was our old Nathan's bark and squeal, the best bear dog 
in the pack. The bear had taken him in his fore-paws, 
drawn him into his great arms, and was squeezing his 
life out of him. My brothers could stand this no longer. 
Neill, the oldest, with the old flint and steel musket, given 
to much snapping, followed by Charles, the lesser, opened 
the way with caution, came in sight of the big bear close 
by, standing on his hind legs slapping the dogs away as 
they would come in front of him, when he looked over his 
shoulder and saw the boys coming up on him from be- 
hind, turned round and rushed on them in his madness, 
when they fired on him, and the old musket didn't fail 
them in that crucial moment, for at the crack of the gun 
the old bear fell at their feet, for the gun was powerfully 
loaded for the occasion. Had she failed fire, there would 



I 



The Lotus Land. 143 

have been a mixture of boys, bears and dogs, that would 
have been serious sure enough. 

Sure enough there lay old Nathan with his life hugged 
out of him by that cruel bear. This was the first and the 
biggest kill of the day. One after another of these bears 
were killed in pretty much the same way, until three of 
these large bears were killed, the dogs having killed four 
of the cubs without help. Night gave an end to the 
day's battle. The hunters' horns blew off the dogs, five 
of the best dogs were missing, among this number was 
long-eared speckled Nimrod, next to the best. The hunt- 
ers went every man to bis home, not bragging, but 
looking on the hunt as a drawn battle. 

The wolf seemed to be more cunning and stealthy in 
his work than any of the ferocious animals, and the most 
numerous. My father built a pen on the heads of his 
mill creek and one on the heads of the Black Branch, 
close to his home. These traps or pens were made of 
small round pine logs taken from the forest around. 
They were 6' by 6' and 4' high, the logs were notched 
down and pinned together. It was floored. The top 
or trap was made solid and in the same way, with logs 
for binders, pinned across the top to hold it together. 
The back binder extended over and served as a journal 
to rest in bearings made in the top log of the pen, so 
that the top could move up and down easily. A trig- 
ger held up this top. A beef's head or the like, in fresh 
meat, was well tied to this trigger that was a steady 
support, but easily tripped. It was the business of one 
of the servent men, Anthony, to look after these traps 
every morning and keep them set and bated. Sometimes 
he would catch a buzzard, but there was hardly a week 
passed at first that he did not get a wolf or two. There 



144 History of Walton County. 

was a powerful big young wolf that grew up in the range, 
larger by half than any of his fellows. He made an awful 
big track and was often seen. They hoped from year to 
year to entrap him, but he seemed to grow up in cunning 
as he grew in size, without being caught. My father 
promised that if he ever caught him in his trap he would 
mark and bell him and let him go and the bell might be 
the means of leading hunters to him in company with 
other wolves and be the cause of killing some of them. 
He went to Pensacola, had a good long sounding bell 
made to order, with a good well fastened clapper and 
staple, large enough to take two plies of sole leather. 
He brought these home, soaked the leather in tar and 
tallow, making it pliant and impervious to water, with 
a w6ll prepared deer skin whang to sew it around the 
neck of the wolf. This bell and strap hung in the hall- 
way for a long time in waiting and advertising what it 
was for, until every one knew and were promised to be 
informed w^hen the fun would take place, that they 
might come. This big wolf would come around the 
pen, but would never go in until all began to think he 
would never be fooled in. But finally, one morning soon, 
Anthony came to the bed room of my father, before he 
was out of bed, and cried with joy, "Old master, we've 
got the big wolf." He sprang out of bed, sent this boy 
across Bruce Creek to tell the Campbells and McLeans, 
this one to tell the McDonalds, and another to tell the 
Mclvers and Andersons, telling them all to bring their 
guns and dogs. They all came, some bringing their chil- 
dren. All things were made ready and all met at the 
pen. They had two long chains with loops in the ends 
of them that they worked on the ends of poles through 
the cracks on either side of the pen, and got the chains 



The Lotus Land. 145 

from either side of the pen over his head and on his neck. 
The crowd stood back and around the pen. I, a boy of 
six years, sat in the lap of my older brother in the fork 
of a large oak tree close by the pen, where we could be 
safe and see it all. Men had great poles to lay on him 
and hold him to the ground until others could get hold 
on him, strong men hold to each chain. All things ready, 
the trap door was lifted, the big wolf bounded out, 
jumped up six feet high, and as he came to the ground 
the poles fell upon him and men laid hold on him with 
their hands. The bell was strapped securely around his 
neck and he was marked. All stood back a little, men 
held ready guns and clubs, and some held dogs, the 
chains were slipped from his neck, men let loose with 
their hands, the poles were lifted from his body, he lay 
a moment as if in a sulk, then, realizing that he was free, 
he jumped, shook himself, and ran in the way left open 
for him to the westward. When fifty yards away, the 
anxious dogs were turned loose and unbuckling their 
lungs in madness, they went in hot pursuit, their tongues 
answering back to the outburst of applause that went 
up from those standing near the pen. The ringing of the 
bell, the barking of the dogs, and the cheering of the peo- 
ple, put a move on the big wolf that he never expe- 
rienced before, and this cunning wolf, realizing that the 
dogs were nearing him, turned at right angles to the 
South, across open hills and made good a swamp that 
was not far away, and was safe from the pursuing dogs. 
The dogs were blown ofT, all returned home well pleased 
with the best sport of the season. This wolf was seen reg- 
ularly for ten years afterwards. Hunters killed several 
wolves in his company, led by his bell. He swam the 
Choctawhatchie several times back and forth. The last 



146 History of Walton County. 

time he was seen was in Washington County by a man 
on a cold rainy evening, while hunting his sheep. He was 
led by the sound of a bell to an old deserted house, think- 
ing to find his sheep in the house. As he neared the door 
the old belled wolf, followed by two others, jumped out 
of the door and ran off before him, he having no gun to 
shoot them. 

The following wolf story is taken from that very pop- 
ular address given by Mrs. Ellen Call Long, daughter of 
Governor Call, in the early years of the Florida Chau- 
tauqua. At the close of her address, there was an unani- 
mous request made, asking for her address on Western 
Florida for publication. She said in her address that she 
gave the story as given to her by one of the actors in 
the scene, Judge John L. Campbell. This is the story 
as she tells it, and he was present when she delivered it 
at the Chautauqua. 

"My father and Colonel McKinnon owned large herds 
of cattle that grazed and roamed the hills and around the 
lakes about DeFuniak Springs. My father sent me often 
with the Colonel and one of his boys to look after his 
stock in this range. One summer afternoon when we 
were at the head of the branch that makes up to the road, 
west of DeFuniak Springs, and not far from the Double 
Ponds (now Lake Stanley), there came up a shower and 
we took shelter under the pine trees around that head. 
The rain over, the Colonel told me to take Frank, one of 
his negro boys who was with him that day, about my 
age and size, and go to the right of the ponds and see and 
take note of all we saw, and he would go to the left and 
meet us at the north side of the ponds. We had gone 
but a little ways on our route when we came to a large 
wolf den near the lake and saw that the old wolf and sev- 




]. A. D. CAMPBELL. 2. JUDGE JOHN L. CAMPBELL. 

3. ALEXANDER D. CAMPBELL. JR. 



The Lotus Land. 147 

eral young ones had gone in after the rain and were still 
in the den, as the tracks showed. We hastened back to 
the Colonel to tell him what we -had seen. When we 
told him all, he turned quickly, saying we must go and do 
away with them, it will never do to let them pass. When 
we got in sight of the mound showing the den, we dis- 
mounted and hitched. The Colonel took his long handled 
tomahawk from his saddle-bags, cut a long pole to run 
down the den to force the wolf out, got two splendid 
lightwood clubs with knots on the end about four feet 
long, handed one to me, the other to Frank. We went 
up quietly to the den. Sure enough they were still in 
the den, for there were their tracks only going in after 
the rain. The Colonel took me gently by the arm, placed 
me on one side of the opening, and just a little back, 
showing me how to hold my club in a striking position, 
and placed Frank on the opposite side in the same posi- 
tion, telling us that when he forced them out with the 
pole he would give the first blows with his tomahawk and 
if he failed to stop them, he would step back and for us 
to let in on the leader with all our might with our clubs. 
Then the Colonel took his position in front of the den, 
his faithful cow dog just behind him, while he held his 
tomahawk in his right hand drawn to strike, with his left 
he sent his long pole down the den for the wolves. I 
never heard such rumbling. Instead of one or two great 
wolves, it seemed to me there must be fifty down there. 
The ground began to tremble under my feet, my hair 
to stand up on my head. I was so mad (?) my legs 
felt curious, I could hear nothing but great wolves 
rushing out. At last the Colonel dropped the pole 
in disgust, straightened up and said, "Pshaw, pshaw! 
I forgot that the wolf always comes out of his den back- 



148 History of Walton County. 

wards. They are gone. Throw down your clubs, mount 
your horses, we may overtake them yet and get the young 
ones with the dog." As we went for our horses, Frank 
said to me, 'Tf we find another wolf's den, we sure will 
not tell Old Master. I declare to de Lord, I nebber had 
such feelings in all my life. My legs got to shaking so 
I thought I was going to fall. If dat old wolf had come 
out of dat den and Old Master had failed to stop him, I 
nebber would have hit him. I done forgot all 'bout the 
structions he gib us. I forgot I had a club 'til he told us 
to throw dem down. Dis nigger just hisn't going to 
find no more wolf dens, dat's sure." We went only a 
little ways around the lake before we came upon the old 
mother wolf nurturing her little ones in a palmetto bed. 
They ran off when we approached. The Colonel trie<jl 
to make Tyler go for them, but not a bit would he go. 
He was about as much awestricken with the scene at 
the den as Fi6nk and I were. He as much as said, "I am 
your faithful cow dog, and it is not my business to chase 
wolves," and not a bit would he go, with all the urging. 
And we were glad, we had about come to the same conclu- 
sion as Tyler." 

This is a true story, as near as it can be told. John 
L. Campbell tells another joke on the Colonel about his 
watch. "The Colonel had a large English movement, 
double case, silver watch that he bought when he was 
twenty one years old, gave $125.00 for it, which he car- 
ried in his pocket for sixty years and slept with it under 
his head every night. It has now the same very heavy 
crystal that was in it when he bought it. (His son, 
John L. McKinnon, has the watch now and it keeps 
pretty correct time, and it is near 100 years old.) It sel- 
dom got out of fix, and when it did, he carried it in his 



The Lotus Land. 149 

pants pocket the same as he did when running until he 
went to Pensacola or Tallahassee himself and had it 
cleaned and repaired. He was going to Tallahassee on 
horseback in the early days of this country and left his 
watch hanging in the room he slept in on his way, and 
went five miles before he missed it. He had his saddle- 
bags key tied to his watch chain and had to go back for 
it, or cut the strap that fastened his "saddle-bags. After 
this he adopted the plan of loosening his suspenders from 
his pants, wrapping them around his watch, and putting 
them together under his head, so that he could nevermore 
forget his watch, and kept this up until his death. He 
claimed that his watch always carried the correct time, 
and didn't like for any one to doubt it, kept it proved up 
with a sun dial that he always carried in his pocket. We 
were going down Choctawhatchie Bay together on one 
occasion on a sail boat, we drifted along all night with 
light winds. There were several other passengers on 
board besides myself and the Colonel. Next morning we 
all got up and were out on the deck of the schooner ex- 
cept the Colonel, he was always slow to go to bed, and not 
early to rise in the morning. He was in the boat's cabin 
dressing when some one on deck said, 'the sun is up." 
The Colonel looked at his watch and said, "No, it lacks 
three minutes of being up." They all cried out on deck 
and said, -'Your watch is wrong this time, put your head 
out of the cabin door and you can see the sun up good." 
The Colonel came out and said it was the water of the 
bay lifting or reflecting the sun before it was clearly up. 
Several said "the water cannot lift or reflect the sun so 
that we can see it as clearly as we see it. Your watch 
is surely three minutes behind time." The Colonel said, 
"Let me demonstrate." He took an empty basin put it in 



150 History of Walton County. 

the bow of the boat, had us all stand in a line at the stern 
of the schooner, and then placed a silver dollar in the bot- 
tom of the basin and asked if we could see the dollar. 
None of us could see it. He said for all of us to stand 
steady and keep our eyes on the same line of vision we 
had while he had some one to pour water in the basin, 
when we all, without moving our heads or changing the 
line of our eyes, saw the silver dollar come up plain to 
view, while it actually lay on the bottom of the basin out 
of our sight before the water was poured into the basin ; 
so we were not so sure then that the Colonel's watch was 
three minutes slow." 

The catamount and panther were terrors in the land 
and gave great trouble to stock men. Mrs. Howell, a 
very small woman, the mother of Alex and Charlie How- 
ell at Euchee Anna, was going through Choctawhatchie 
swamp near the Cow-ford on a trail, her little son Wil- 
lie, about six or eight years old, was following close be- 
hind her on the trail, when a large catamount from the 
bushes jumped upon the boy. catching him by the back 
of the neck, threw him to the ground, and would have 
torn him to pieces had it not been for the brave little wo- 
man, his mother, who turned at the squall of her boy. 
found just such a club as she could use effectively with 
the super-human strength of a loving mother, fighting 
for her child, and gave just such blows as only a mother 
can give under such circumstances, and drove the monster 
off her boy, following him with blows that finished him 
on the spot. This son, with the marks of the catamount 
on his neck, lives in Washington County, having raised 
there a large family. 

When I was a boy of eleven years, I was at Freeport 
in the store of my brother-in-law. Giles Bowers, there 



The Lotus Land. 151 

came over from Point Washington a man by the name 
of Smith, who had with him a son eight years old. He 
was a great hunter, had a long Buchanan rifle, and before 
he took his gun from his shoulder. Bowers said to him, 
"Smith, a panther killed a calf of one of my milk cows up 
on Four Mile Creek, above my home, last night. I know 
he is up on the creek now, and you can kill him in a little 
while if you will. If you go and kill him, I will give you 
one dollar's worth of ammunition for your old rifle." "I 
will go," said Smith. He tried to persuade his boy to stay 
at the store until he came back, but like all boys away 
from home, he would go with papa. They had to go 
farther up the creek than they thought. The boy was 
very tired. They were on one of the heads that made 
up pretty close to the Euchee Anna and Freeport road. 
The father told his son that he wanted to go down the 
fork of the branch and come up the other branch and that 
walk would be too much for him, and put him on a 
plain cow trail that led to the big Euchee Anna and 
Freeport road, which was but a little ways off. and on 
across that road to Lafayette Creek, and told him to 
stop when he came to the big road until he would 
come down it in a little while to him. It was a 
drizzly evening and the trail was very plain where it 
crossed the big road, and the pine straw had fallen thick 
about the crossing, so the boy passed on over the big 
road without noticing it, and when the father came, he 
saw by the tracks what his boy had done, and hurried on 
after him. He had gone but a little ways when he found 
the panther's tracks following on top of his boy's tracks. 
Excited to the highest pitch, he rushed on, fearing the fe- 
rocious beast might overtake and destroy his boy. As 
he hurried off in the very agony of suspense, not a great 



152 History of Walton County. 

ways from Lafayette Creek, he came to a cross trail 
leading from up Lafayette on to Freeport, and to his 
joy, he found his boy's track on top of his first tracks and 
that of the panther's. He is filled with joy, "my boy is 
safe, I am between him and the panther. I see now my 
boy followed the trail on to Lafayette, turned up the 
creek, crossed a little branch and struck this cow trail 
leading to Freeport, and has gone on there. Shall I 
lay in wait and kill the panther as he comes on the 
track? No, I shall go and know that my boy is safe." 
Following on in easy haste, as he neared Freeport the 
path began to branch off and grow dimmer and dimmer 
until there was no path at all, and no tracks could be 
found of his boy in any direction among the long 
grass and branch heads near Freeport, and about where 
the bridge is now on Lafayette. He becomes troubled 
again and says to himself, "Is it possible that my boy 
has wandered back up the Lafayette, to be destroyed by 
the panther?" He ran round and round, crossing and 
recrossing the little branch heads, but no tracks of his 
boy could be found. The evening was fast passing 
away, again he cries out, "What shall I do? I will go 
to Freeport and get help to hunt for my boy for I don't 
know what to do of myself." And he went in haste. It 
was only a little ways oflf. As he neared the store he saw 
Bowers standing in front of the store and cried to him as 
he came, "my boy is lost, come and help me find him." 
Bowers gladly replied, "Your boy is safe, he is here." 
And there was gladness in the father's heart and joy in 
the boy's when they met. He told Bowers the story 
and he took his big dog "Lock," and they went together, 
put him on the fresh track, and he soon put him up a 
white bay tree between Freeport and Lafayette bridge 



The Lotus Land. 153 

near where D. McLean and Blackman now live. The 
old hunter threw up his old long rifle to his face and 
brought him down, a dead panther, to the ground. He 
got his ammunition, went back over the bay that night 
with his boy, a happy man, and always loved to tell the 
story of how happy he was when he knew that his boy 
was safe. That was the last real big panther I ever saw 
in Walton. But saw and hunted its cousins often after- 
wards. Is there not a lesson in this story for us all? 
Reminding us that we should ever keep a Great One 
between us and our enemy that is ever on our tracks to 
destroy us? 



154 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XVII. 

The Great American Bald Eagle. 

This bird, symbolical of American liberty, is a great 
bird, and develops a faculty, or instinct, very near akin 
to reasoning. They give much trouble in the range to 
sheepmen. Since I have lived in DeFuniak, J. Love 
McLean, Bazey Andrews (a colored man) and myself 
were on a cow hunt in the southern range. We were 
on horseback, each had a dog, but no gun. As we passed 
up east of the scrub and near the "scrub pond," we 
heard a great noise in the air. We looked to our right 
and there was one of these great bald eagles, swooping 
down on a fleet-footed doe, striking her at one time on the 
head, and then on the rump, tearing the flesh each time 
with his great beak and talons, repeating these blows. 
On nearing us, the scared doe saw us on the slant of the 
hill, ran to us, stopped in our very midst, looked up 
to us with her soft, dreamy eyes, as much as to say, "will 
you not protect me from this terrible bird of prey?" The 
eagle poised in mid-air for a moment just above us, 
then flew away across the pond and lighted on the lowest 
limb of a very low pine, under which were ewes and 
lambs feeding. When our dogs came up they chased 
the panting doe from our midst into the "scrub" that 
was close at hand, where she was safe from all. We 
passed through the pond, rode immediately under the 
bird, hollowed and squalled at him until we found that 
there was no use wasting our breath, and could never 
make it fly away. It would move sideways back and 



The Lotus Land. 155 

forth along the limb looking- at us, as much as to say, 
"you kept me. through your dogs and the "scrub" from 
dining on venison. I will see to it that you will not keep 
me from dining on tender lamb. I am the great bald 
eagle, symbol of American liberty. This is my country, 
where in the mischief are you from?" 

We had to go on and leave him there, knowing well 
that he would soon dine on lamb meat. We reported 
that evening to the sheep men and they went in quest 
of the saucy rascal. Are we not reminded here that 
there is a Refuge for us when we are pursued by the evil 
one, that is more secure than the "scrub" was to that 
stricken, soft-eyed doe? 

Years ago I built a saw mill at the conjunction of 
Lafayette and Four Mile Creeks where there had been 
for years eagle nests. When we began to clear away 
for the mill and to fell the big timber around, the eagles 
began to move their nests farther up Lafayette, flying 
away with the great sticks and lining in their talons that 
it took to build their nests, as much as to say, "we want 
more elbow room, the world is too big for a fuss, let 
us have peace." Captain John Watson and myself were 
drifting along slowly in the Narrows on the island side, 
just before crossing over to Mary Esther on the main 
land, and were very much interested in a fish hawk's 
fishing in the clear shoals as we drifted on, — he would 
ascend high up in the air, sail around until his eagle eye 
would catch a shoal of mullet in the shallows, then he 
would bundle himself into a ball and come down with a 
force that would send up the splash of water several feet 
in the air. He repeated this several times and got nothing. 
Finally he swooped down and came up with a big mullet 
and flew off down and across the Narrows towards his 



156 History of Walton County. 

home on the main land ; but there was an eagle secreted 
on the island watching him, and as he mounted up 
with his catch, the eagle came on swift wings from his 
hiding when the hawk was opposite, and made for 
him to get his fish. He found that he was not swift 
enough for the hawk, and when near the old eagle nest 
on the point of land not far from Mary Esther, and pro- 
jecting from the island and separated from it by the little 
bayou, he poised in the air, fluttered his wings and made 
a loud call that brought a swifter flying eagle that sailed 
straight on a bee line after the swift flying hawk, gaining 
ever}' moment on it, and when up and underneath the 
hawk, the eagle struck up for the game and failed to get 
it. The hawk clung to it and flew on for its home. 
Then the eagle rose in the sky and followed on. When 
over and some distance above the hawk, the eagle gath- 
ered himself up into a ball, as the hawk did when fishing, 
and came down with a force that knocked the fish from 
the grasp of the hawk, and caught it before it reached 
the water and flew away with it to the old eagle nest, 
while the hawk sought a better place for fishing, away 
from the eagle nests. While we were interested in this 
battle in the air above the waters, we thought of this 
fable and its lesson, namely, "That a long time ago when 
birds and animals could talk, the fish hawk borrowed the 
eagle's fishing net and forgot to carry it back to him 
and ever since then the eagle has made the hawk fish for 
him." 

Snake Stories. 

We want everything in this book to be true, just as 
it is stated here, and it is with some diffidence that we 
venture on a snake story, as there are so few who be- 



The Lotus Land. 157 

lieve a snake or fish story; I will venture a short one 
that I know is true. The man lives now that told it first 
to me and says he will swear to it. When so many of 
us Scotch people lived at Freeport several years ago, Dr. 
John Wesley McKinnon, father of our Mrs. S. K. GilHs, 
lived there too ; one of the Infingers on Alaqua was sick 
and Jesse Evans, now living at Rock Hill, came after 
the Doctor; they went on the way together. They had 
a little dog along and it bayed something off the road a 
little ways. They rode out to it and found that it was 
a large rattler. iDr. J. W. McKinnon dismounted, went 
up behind the snake that was watching the dog, and 
placed his riding switch in his right hand about his head 
grabbed him by the neck, held him up and out by his 
left hand at arms length, run his right hand into his 
pocket pulled out his knife, opened it with his teeth, 
and while he was making his graceful curves in the air, 
cut off his head, threw his body down on the ground, 
saying, "go now, you bloody bones." When Evans 
told me this story as above, I asked the Doctor if it was 
true. He said it was just as Evans had told it, and said 
that if you would come up on them from behind and be 
quick, there was never any danger. 

I will venture just one more. I know this one is true, 
"because I saw the man that told me of it." When the 
peninsula west of Point Washington extending to East 
Pass belonged to Walton, and was claimed by Washing- 
ton County, there was a general election in Washington. 
The tax assessor's and tax collector's offices went to- 
gether as one office. The incumbent did his duty as 
officer so well that it was thought no one would come 
out against him. Finally a man by the name of Melvin 
announced himself for the office, claiming that the pres- 



158 History of Walton County. 

ent incumbent failed to do his duty in not going over all 
the territory, not as far down as East Pass, to assess and 
collect taxes on property there, amounting to $150.00 or 
$200.00, from which the county and State would realize 
about $3.30 each year, a distance of about sixty miles 
from Vernon. He claimed in his canvas, if the "dear 
people" would elect him, he would see this matter prop- 
erly attended to. This was the only issue between them. 
The race was made, and he won. Unlike the most of of- 
ficials of today, when the time came he mounted his 
mustang, with books in saddle bags, and goes out to this 
work. When night was creeping on him he found him- 
self on a dim trail, the grass up to his knees, and he on 
his pony. He felt sad and lonely, everything around 
looked so snaky and foreboding he wished in his heaft 
he was back home with his wife. Finally he saw through 
the dim twilight a log cabin in the distance on his way. 
This cabin stood just where Santa Rosa City now stands. 
He rode up, asked the lady if he could have lodging with 
them through the night. She said her husband was not 
at home, but was expecting him every moment; that it 
would be a bad chance to stay with them as they had 
neither meat nor bread nor corn to feed his horse. This 
was some distance west of Point Washington and twenty 
eight miles from East Pass. In a little while the husband 
came up, repeated what the wife had said, and agreed, 
as the only chance, to do the best thing they could for 
him through the night. They put his horse up and gave 
him all the peas in the hull that he would have and plenty 
of hay. They had for supper plenty of good coffee, peas, 
sweet potatoes and fresh fish. This was so much bet- 
ter than he expected, he was cheered. After supper they 
sat and talked a while and they were social and commu- 



The Lotus Land. 169 

nicative, and this is what they talked about : "I saw 
something suspended by a string from the rafters that 
were low, that I took to be ears of pop corn. When I 
inquired about it, they kindly took it down and showed 
me that it was rattle snake rattles and I had never seen 
so many and such large ones before. The wife with the 
assistance of the husband and children commenced at 
the bottom, counted them and gave a little history of 
each, as she went through them. This one was killed 
in the field, this at the spring, this one out at the cow 
pen ; the children gathered some oak limbs in a pile out 
yonder, for cooking, I went out in a day or two, picked 
up the pile of wood, and this one ran out of the wood 
when it was in my arms, and I killed it. I killed this 
one out there in the corner of the chimney yesterday, 
they go in twos and I think I saw the slide of his mate 
near the gate this morning. This was all awful to me. 
I thought I would not try to sleep that night ; but when 
they said it is time to go to bed, I was so tired and worn 
out with the long ride, I was ready to go. They put me 
in a little shed room in a little short bedstead made of 
boards set up in the corner, next to the main building. 
I had no light to help me to bed, but I dropped off to 
sleep in a little while to dream of snakes. Some time 
in the night, in one of my restless moods, half awake 
and half asleep, I straightened my foot out over the 
bedstead and something struck my right ankle with 
force. I knew that it was a rattler, jumped out of bed, 
ran into the house, told them what had happened, and 
they soon had a fire kindled, examined my ankle, and 
saw enough to know it was the strike of a rattler, for 
there was the rake of his cruel fangs. They bound my 
leg tight above the ankle to keep the poison from spread- 



160 History of Walton County. 

ing, hurried to make tobacco tea. I called for my writ- 
ing material and wrote my dear wife a few parting words. 
I drank and drank profusely of the tea, and threw up the 
black poison, growing weaker and weaker all the time. 
After a while the old man said, 'he has stood it so long 
I have a hope for him,' but I was so weak and sick I 
thought I must die. Again I heard him say, 'don't give 
him any more of the tea, I believe he has thrown up 
every particle of the poison,' this gave me cheer. Then 
in a little while he said 'He is doing so well let's take off 
the bandage.' The bandage was removed, my blood 
went bounding through my veins unrestrained, and I be- 
gan to be myself again, and in less than half an hour, I 
could sit up and walk about. All of them rejoiced with 
me in my narrow escape, and the efficiency of the reme- 
dies used. The old man said 'they were the best he had 
ever seen and never knew them to fail if commenced in 
time, and that my case was a severe one, for the rattler 
had given me a long and deep rake.' The old man fur- 
ther said, 'there must be no sleeping on this place until 
that snake is killed, and told the boys to go to the wood 
pile and split some fat splinters to make torches for the 
hunt' ; the boys with sticks and lightwood torches were 
placed on the outside of the house, the girls with sticks 
were to watch by the fire on the hearth inside of that 
room, and the old man and wife with torch and stick 
went cautiously into my bed room, while I stood near the 
door watching. iWhen they had entered a little ways 
into the room, they stopped and pointed towards the foot 
of the bed I slept upon and spoke to each other in a low 
tone that I could not catch, but I shivered. The old 
man called to me. 'stranger?' I answered, but did not 
go in, 'were you sleeping on the back side of the bed next 



The Lotus Land. 161 

to the wall when you put your foot over the bed and was 
bitten?' "Yes sir, I was." "Come in here." "I hesitated — 
I trembled" ; "there is not one bit of danger now, I want 
to show you." "I went in trembling, and he pointed to a 
flour barrel full of wool, on the top of the wool was an 
old setting hen. He said, 'now stranger, me and my old 
woman are of the opinion that it was that old hen that 
bit you on the ankle and not a rattler. She is mighty 
crabbed, but a mighty good brood hen, and my old wo- 
man always sets her, she is such a fighter for her bid- 
dies. I tell you stranger she is one of the "Old Blue 
Hen's Chickens,' said the wife. "See here stranger," and 
he ran his stick out over the bed as though it was my 
leg and she struck it with a vim. 'Now, I am of the 
opinion that she is the critter that bit you," and I was of 
the same opinion too, now. "My old woman says she is 
due to hatch out today, and she don't want to disturb 
her, so if you think you can lay on the front side of the 
bed and not stick your foot over the old hen, you can lay 
here and sleep in perfect safety. All of us need sleep, 
you especially, for it was mighty early in the night when 
the old hen bit you. I know you must be weak and 
sleepy and you have a long ways to ride tomorrow and 
through big grass and ponds before you get to East Pass, 
and there is no house between here and there where you 
can stop and rest." Surely I was weak and sleepy. I 
lay down on "my" side of the bed and let the old hen 
Ihave "her" side undisturbed, and slept sweetly until after 
sunrise, with my feet drawn close up to my body. When 
I got my breakfast and horse fed, I thanked them all for 
their kindness, and tried to pay them, but they would 
not have a cent. Then I left, but not for East Pass, no, 
I went straight back to Vernon. At the next election 



1^2 History of Walton County. 

there was no issue between us ; the plank in my plat- 
form that I got in on, I had kicked out, and I was left." 

The Deer Hunt. 

In the early days deer were so plentiful in Walton 
County that there was nothing interesting in the hunt 
save the shooting down and eating them. I heard my 
mother say my father was starting for a month in the 
woods for a beef ; he would go but a little ways from 
home when he would kill a deer or two and come back 
and stay until the meat was about out, and go again, 
and so on until a month had gone. It was not until they 
became scarce in the woods that the chase became inter- 
esting, when the blooded deer hounds were in pursuit, 
men on the drive and on the stands of their regular runs, 
firing as they came by, their guns keeping time with the 
music of the hounds in the chase. I will not attempt to 
give one of these interesting deer hunting scenes, for 
Walton has today one of the most interesting and suc- 
cessful hunters she has ever had. I would say here to 
those who are fond of romantic hunting stories, that are 
true, to go as I did not long ago for a few weeks with 
Mr. Charlie Meigs over his hunting ground among the 
prongs of Shoal and Titi Rivers, and have him show you 
the places and tell you the stories of the sure enough 
real chase and adventure in hunting, and I'll guarantee 
you will have all in romance and pleasure along that line 
you want. 

The Fox. 

Neither will I say anything here of the fox chase of 
the early days, for Walton gives you here in DeFuniak 
a scientific sportsman after that game in Dr. G. P. 




1. JOHN B. MEIGS. 



C. D. METGS. 



The Lotus Land. 163 

Morris, who far excels any of the fox hunters in those 
early days. If you want to have a real booming, gushing 
day around DeFuniak, come on horseback, before the 
dawn, as many ladies and gentlemen do, and follow the 
Doctor out on the hills with his woods pony and pack 
of trained fox hounds, be there in the rush of the morn- 
ing, when he turns these anxious big pups free on the 
trail of the cunning fox, follow him in the chase, some- 
times at full speed, turning the fox from his haunts in 
bay on this side and then from a titi branch on the other 
side, keeping him out in the open on the hills and ridges, 
to give sport in a long chase ; what new-born music in 
that early morn, will greet your ears on these open hills, 
coming from the kettle and 'bass drum beats of horses' 
hoofs, striking the hollow earth in perfect unison, with 
the varied tuned chin music from the pack : and to be 
there when the cunning rascal is forced to take a tree, 
and see him lie across the limb of a tree, look down com- 
tplacently on the scene below, as if saying, "my cunning 
has saved me," while the angry dogs howl and bark in 
fury and jump up the tree several feet, trying to reach 
him. The dogs are often called oflf, and he is left there 
in safety, feeling no doubt "my cunning has saved me.'*' 
The Doctor never takes them except for specimens in 
taxidermic work as done in Palmer College. 



164 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XVII. 

The Negro in Walton. 

In the outset I will say without fear of contradiction 
that the negroes of Walton, as a whole, were the happi- 
est and best contented people in our country; and why 
not? They all had good masters, were not put away off 
in quarters with a heartless overseer to manage them. 
They were never over-worked, they had plenty to eat and 
wear, they were clothed and fed from the same well 
filled store house that their masters fed from ; they had 
opportunities to procure luxuries and conveniences if they 
wished them, in sickness their mistress looked after them 
and saw that they were well cared for ; her physician was 
theirs ; their spiritual interest in the congregations were 
provided for. They were all Presbyterians ; they held 
their regular weekly prayer meetings in the quarters ; 
they never fell into the clutches of the law; they were 
looked after and punished by their masters for their 
wrong doings as they corrected their own children ; 
and it was seldom they had to receive corporal pun- 
ishment. The young white boys and girls were taught 
to treat the old ones with marked respect ; it was 
always "uncle George, Aunt Millie, Uncle Sam and 
Aunt Harriet." And this respect was kept up by older 
ones, even by white people who owned no slaves. 
They had no burden of taxes or doctor bills to meet, or 
politics to discuss. The Christian spirit that prompted 
their owners to see that they were protected and treated 
right, was strengthened by a commercial interest in them. 



The Lotus Land. 165 

We can't remember of the hundreds of negroes in Wal- 
ton of more than two or three that ever ran away from 
their owners, and these cases were only for a short time, 
when they returned. When they took wives outside of 
the quarters, they were permitted to go see their wives 
regularly, especially every Saturday evening and stay 
until Monday morning ; and when a swap could be made 
to bring them together, it was made, if the parties de- 
sired it. 

My father had a young negro boy who took a wife 
belonging to Mr. James Evans and Evans had a boy 
that took a wife belonging to my father; as they lived 15 
miles apart a proposition was made to make a swap and 
bring the men together with their wives. But neither 
our boy or girl would begin to consent to the swap, yet 
they knew that Mr. Evans was a good master. It was 
seldom that these changes were accepted by the parties 
when proposed. There was a wonderful attachment 
existing between master and servant in Walton, that 
can't be satisfactorily explained to some. They were 
always jealous for one another's good name and stand- 
ing. No master or mistress wanted their servants talked 
about as trifling or worthless, neither did the servant 
want to hear hard things said about their masters or 
mistress without objecting, and they were ever ready to 
report against such a one. All things were claimed in 
common ; it was our horses and cattle, our white children 
and black children. 

Their Holidays. 

In the days of slavery there were only two holi- 
days, the fourth of July and Christmas; they had 
these days and always a week at Christmas time. 



166 History of Walton County. 

They enjoyed themselves in innocent amusements 
pretty much as the whites did, singing plays, the old- 
fashioned dances, and some borderline amusements. The 
men loved to trap fish and hunt. They seemed to enjoy 
the log rollings and corn shuckings very much ; and they 
looked forward to these times with great interest and 
pleasure, and talked of the good times long after they 
were gone. Around the log heaps they could show their 
strength that they were so proud of. Around the corn 
piles in front of the big crib doors they could sound to 
their liking their great voices in the soft moonlight 
nights, as one of them stood on the corn heap, leading 
in the song, while the rest, with their great voices would 
follow in antiphonal choruses. When the corn was 
shucked two of them would take the master or overseer 
on their shoulders, march around the house with him, 
all following singing their best yodel song; then he 
would bring out the "little brown jug" and give them 
a drink, and they would sit down to a good well prepared 
supper, this over, they would have some sports, then go 
to their several quarters and have something to talk 
about, until the next corn shucking. So it ever went 
with these happy people. 

The Boyds. 

Several years after the war. Rev. J. B. Boyd, a Pres- 
byterian preacher and president of a female college 
in Monroe, Michigan, on the recommendations of 
Dr. Dabney, came with his family, wife and two 
grown daughters, and preached four months in our 
Presbyterian Church at Freeport. They stopped in our 
homes, and while with us he and his family went up 




1. DR. C. B. McKINNON. 2. CHAS. B. :McKINNON, JR. 

;j. COL. N. J. McKINNON. 



The Lotus Land. 167 

and down the bay with us to Pensacola often on the 
mail steamer, "C. Fischer." One morning while laying 
at the wharf in Pensacola, we were sitting in the cabin, 
when the porter announced to me that there were four 
colored women out there that wanted to see me. I told 
him to bring them in, and in came the four colored 
women, with nice bandana handkerchiefs neatly tied 
around their heads, as in the old days. They all four 
rushed to me at once to shake my hand, or tell me 
"howdy," they were so really glad to see me, and I was 
glad to see them, it had been ten years since I had seen 
them. They were taken from our home when the Ash- 
both raid passed through Walton on to Marianna. They 
asked me all about the old home, the horses, cows, sheep, 
about old master and mistress, and the boys and girls. 
They all wanted to know a lot about "Sis," if she had 
grown large or married, if we had gotten any of the 
oxen or horses or mules back. One of them said to me 
"I saw Mr. S. C. Cobb riding one of 'our horses' down 
here and I sent word to old master that she was here." 
I told her he got the word and got the horse too. Three 
of these were sisters, Caroline, the cook, Black Flora, 
assistant cook, Dorcas and Sindy were both field hands. 
I went several times to see them in their homes, found 
them at times in plenty, and again scant and in distress. 
Caroline said to me on one occasion when I went with 
the doctor, C. B. McKinnon, my nephew, who was doing 
charity practice for them, when her husband "Uncle 
Joe" was going out slowly with a loathsome cancer and 
when the larder was scant, "The war didn't do much for 
me in giving me freedom, you know old master always 
promised me when I would have as many children as 
old mistress had, he was going to set me free and take 



168 History of Walton County, 

care of me as long as I would live. I done had that 
many before I was down here two months and one more 
since and he is a great big boy now, that makes 14 for 
me, and I am not free yet, and don't expect to be 'til 
I die." She is still alive in Pensacola. 

When they had gone, Rev. Boyd and family, who sat 
there and observed all that was said, turned to me with 
a look of astonishment and said, well my dear sir, if 
what we have seen and heard today is a shadow of 
slavery in the South, we of the North have had it repre- 
sented to us in a very unjust light. I have learned today 
and in the few months I have been in Walton more than 
I had learned from books in all my life. I have never 
seen such unfeigned attachment expressed in words and 
acts. Mrs. Boyd asked if one of their sisters still re- 
mained with us, the "Sis" that they were asking so 
much about. When I told her that that was my own 
baby sister, Kate, that they knew, they were the more 
astonished, and said with added surprise, "Well, well, 
did I ever dream of such wonderful attachment. It is 
now that I understand the story of 'old mammy lov'e' 
and care for the white children, that I thought once was 
a myth, a dream for orators to spout on." 

Aunt Caroline visited us once since we have lived at 
DeFuniak, her children come often. Uncle Joe, her hus- 
band, was a preacher and his last pastoral work was 
serving churches in Mossy Bend. The first time he came 
up there to his work, which was after he had been gone 
twenty-five years, he stopped at the old homestead with 
Bazy Andrews, who married one of his nieces, a young 
yellow negro man that had been on the place for fifteen 
years running my farm, and made me more clear money 
than any one made before or since, and when Uncle Joe 



The Lotus Land. 169 

saw me in the afterwards, he said to me, "I stayed at 
the old home with Bazy Andrews and his family from 
Friday night until Monday morning, and what a change 
there was in the 'old place,' all our cottages in the quar- 
ters done gone, the most of the stables and cribs falling 
in, no big cow pens full of cows, just Bazy's little one 
and a little bunch of cows, where there use to be several 
hundred to milk, — the nice peach and plum and apple 
orchard all gone, just the pomegranate orchard, with its 
yellow, brown and purple fruit, was all that looked natu- 
ral, and it seemed to me farther from the 'Big House' 
than it use to be ; the deep brick curbed well that we 
thought would last forever, it was tumbling in ; and too, 
that big two story white house with its wide hallway 
through it, that we could see from the distant hills on 
that high 'Pleasant Hill' among the pines and cedar, 
was shut out by the scrub oaks on my way coming; 
and when I reached it, what a change in it, the white 
paint had worn off, the window panes were broken out, 
the most of the blinds had slammed to pieces, the long 
broad steps were becoming rickety ; and then, there was 
none of you white folks in the 'Big House,' just Bazy 
and his family, and so many of my white people that 
used to be so happy in that 'Big House' were gone, gone 
away to Heaven ; and so many of my colored people 
gone like our cottages that stood in the groves in the 
rear of the 'Big House' so many of them gone too, I 
hope, like my good white people, to the better land. 

"Bazy and my niece Kate, and the children were just 
as kind to me as they could be ; but Sunday, there, was 
the lonesomest, the saddest day I ever spent on this 
earth : In the evening as the sun was going down (you 
know in the days when you are sad the evenings are 



170 History of Walton County. 

always the saddest part of the day) I went out and sat 
on the cow pen fence to watch them drive in the cows 
to be milked; I looked around me and saw the great 
changes on every hand, and thought of the many, many 
happy days I had around there, when there were so 
many of us living at that old home of plenty and con- 
tentment, before I had learned anything about care and 
want ; and how they were scattered now, like sheep with- 
out a shepherd ; I became so sad that I hung my head 
and could not keep from crying to save my life. I don't 
know whether I shall ever want to go back there again 
or not. Bazy and Kate love to stay there; they weren't 
old enough to remember away back like me." 

Out of the many negroes on our plantation there were 
but three who used profane language; and they had 
been often reproved and were very particular when or 
where, they used it. Very few of them used tobacco, 
and my father always furnished these with it. All the 
farm hands had their little private crops and were 
allowed to sell and do what they pleased with it ; they 
had time on Saturdays to cultivate them. Each family 
had their little chicken house and lot in the grove back 
of their cottage and marked their chickens by cutting 
off certain toes. My mother saw that they got plenty 
of milk and butter, bread, meat, potatoes and syrup, they 
had gardens in the plantation for vegetables. Some of 
the owners of slaves weighed out their rations in accord- 
ance with the United States Army regulations. Ours 
always wanted old missus to see it dished out to them. 
My father tried hiring two or three overseers and they 
were so unsatisfactory that he quit bothering with them ; 
he managed them himself with a negro foreman until 
his son, Neill L. McKinnon, was large enough to take 



The Lotus Land. 171 

charge of them, and he managed them all the time until 
they were freed ; and they thought more of him than 
they did of any of us. 

During all these days of slavery in Walton, there was 
never an overt, or an attempt, to "the nameless" act 
committed by one of Walton's negroes. But just after 
the war, a young buck negro following close after the 
example set just before the close of the war by negro 
soldiers in their hellish nameless act, committed North 
of Euchee Anna, while passing through there on the 
Ashboth raid, entered, in a state of nudity, on a bright 
moonlight night, the home of one of the best families 
at Knox Hill, prompted and led on, we know, by the 
Euchee Anna negro soldier shame. 

At that time a number of us boys who had been spared 
and had just returned home from the war, trying to start 
life anew, were holding a literary social in the academy 
near that home. The news soon reached us, we went in 
a body in hot haste, heard the horrid story, got the 
tracks where he leaped out of the door on his all fours, 
followed them to his home where he lay, feigning to be 
asleep, and had to drag him from his bed before we got 
him out of that pretense. He was identified by the 
lady, his feet and hands fitted exactly in the tracks made 
where he leaped from the door. A faithful negro boy 
testified that he saw him near that home just before the 
act, so we were satisfied beyond a doubt that he was the 
fiend. We went to the old men, and his former owner, 
while they lay in their beds asleep in the quiet night, 
and counseled with them. They all agreed with us that 
it would never do to turn the incarnate fiend at large. 
There were no officers or law in force in our land. These 
old men told us that with these conditions they could see 



172 History of Walton County. 

no way but to swing him up ; but they said too, "It is 
our opinion that General Ashboth will have every one 
of you in Fort Pickens in less than 48 hours" ; we thought 
so too, but we said with one voice and with one heart, 
shame be to us if we let this brute go, better far we had 
fallen and our bones were bleaching on some battle field 
rather than let such fear drive us from the proper pro- 
tection of our mothers and sisters and the dear ladies of 
Walton, who had worked so faithfully and cheered us so 
heartily while at the front, and were now honoring us 
in defeat. We left him swinging from a limb in the 
forks of the public road North of "Old Knox Hill." This 
put a stop to any more such work in Walton unto this 
day. The sequel will follow. 

Negroes in General. 

Now the truths that we have stated in reference 
to Walton's negro slaves, can be said in a meas- 
ure to be true in general of slavery in the South. 
W^e don't pretend to claim that all slaves here had 
as good, considerate masters, who looked after their 
general interest as these, neither do we deny the charge 
that there were cruel, neglectful masters, who treated 
their slaves shamefully ; but these were the rare excep- 
tions, and not the rule. They were not treated as the 
Northern abolition fanatics of that day would have you 
believe — as "Uncle Tom's Cabin" — that book in its highly 
exaggerated panicy paintings, that had more to do with 
the flow of fratricidal blood that drenched our Southland 
for four years, than any other one act. In the very 
nature of things, these wild statements could never have 
been true. We ever had good wholesome state laws 



The Lotus Land. 173 

for the protection of slaves and these were executed 
about as well as any of our laws are. The commercial 
interest in his slaves would have held the heartless mas- 
ter from the treatment alleged. 

Where They Settled. 

The most of our slaves when taken away set- 
tled in and around Pensacola and New Orleans. 
I have seen them in those places at work and in 
their homes; and say without any mental reservation. 
I never found that cheer and happy looking faces that I 
always found in their little cabin homes and in their 
work on the plantation. It is better with those who did 
not go to the cities. This, too, can be said in a measure 
to be true of freedom today in the South. But you say, 
they have now that long coveted independence and lib- 
erty that is so dear to every human creature. Yes, and 
the Scottish Bard makes his aged hero hunting work say, 

"If I'm designed yon lordling's slave. 

By nature's law designed, 
Why was an independent wish 
E'er planted in my mind." 

Now, from my close observations, there was very little, 
if any, of this "independent wish" planted in the minds 
of these simple, happy people. We, and I speak in gen- 
eral terms, would not, if we could, have them back in 
slavery. We would be a happy, prosperous people today 
if we were freed from them, from the responsibility that 
rests upon us towards them, as they lie. Lazarus like. 



174 History of Walton County. 

at our doors, tampered with by designing, unprincipled 
politicians, who care nothing for their welfare, and by 
soft eyed women, who know nothing whatever about 
their wants or how they must be treated to be happy. 
The world must acknowledge today that they ought to 
have been made wards of the government, placed to 
themselves like the Indians were, and looked after, rather 
than turned loose on us, clothed with the garments of 
citizenship, with the ballot unrestrained in their hands, 
to hold offices and make laws to govern us, a far more 
superior race in every respect than they, led and tam- 
pered with by a low grade of unprincipled carpet-bag 
officials. Wise men knew that this could never stand. 
It failed under the very point of the bayonet ; when the 
fanatical abolition spirit was at its highest. And the 
negro ought to know by now that these moves in Con- 
gress just before every general election, by designing 
politicians, to give them more political power, are not 
for their good, but for their hurt, that it is awakening a 
feeling against them that has made the negro problem 
national, and has stirred up a race feeling against them 
up North, that is more bitter than any experienced in 
the South. For the Southern people understand them 
better and feel more kindly towards them. This political 
move with them was never in the plan of Mr. Lincoln, 
the shame lies with the revengeful, fanatical politicians 
that lived after him, and it rests as a dark ominous cloud, 
pressing down upon them, making them twist and wince 
under its reflex influence. 

Would that the monumental statue of Mr. Lincoln, 
standing in Springfield, Illinois, today, had his mortal 
mind and eyes with a vision to look upon the situation 
of the negroes there, just as it is at this writing, and run 



The; Lotus Land. 175 

over the country to and fro, North and South, see the 
negro freedman in his home, at his work, in his squalor, 
in his prison, and had a tongue that would tell us just 
what he thinks now of the situation, his condition, and of 
chattel slavery in the South, after nearly a half century's 
experience in freedom, — if his condition, physically, men- 
tally, morally and religiously are very much bettered. 
This would be interesting reading, and I have no doubt 
but many would be astonished at his report. 

We believe that the freedmen in Walton are in many 
respects above the average in morals and home com- 
forts, all from early training and knowing to remain in 
their proper spheres. One of the colored elders of the 
Presbyterian Church, in his report to the Presbytery, 
said, "While many of my race had to go to jail, I want 
you white people to know that none of them were of the 
"old time family negroes, but are from the young, 
brought-in turpentine negroes." 

It has been and is today, the wonder of the world, how 
it was that these slaves remained so loyal and true to 
their masters in their Southern homes on the farm, all 
during the four years of Civil War, that was claimed to 
be waged for their freedom, when they were being 
tampered with in so many ways, tempting them to incen- 
diarism, to desert and go on the war path. And it will 
ever be to the glory of the South, through all time, that 
her people have gotten along so well as they have through 
such ordeals as have existed. The negro had as much 
contempt for the deserter as their masters had. We 
long to see them in their place and under conditions 
where they may enjoy this freedom and liberty in its 
fullest measure, without disturbing us in ours. We 
really think that the government ought to have divided 



176 History of Walton County. 

them out in the several States of the Union. This would 
come nearer solving the negro problem than anything 
yet proposed. Time is the great arbiter of all things, 
the revealer of all truth. What we don't know now, we 
shall know hereafter. 



The Lotus Land. 177 



CHAPTER XIX. 



Physical Improvements. 

In the more than two decades that intervened 
between the two sad epochs — 1837-1860, in Wal- 
ton's history, there were wonderful advancements 
on every line ; great thoroughfares were opened up 
through this territory, East and West, North and 
South ; the roads leading from Pensacola to Talla- 
hassee and from Freeport by Euchee Anna on to Geneva, 
Alabama, were established as public thoroughfares ; and 
ferries were established on the rivers along these roads, 
and the travel through the country increased very much. 
The unwieldy flat bottom boat, built by the old Scotch- 
man at the Scotch Landing on the Choctawhatchie, that 
had to have a fair wind to make time, was supplanted 
by the round knuckled sailor, with sideboards and then 
center boards, that held them to the wind, so that they 
could be sailed right into the winds eye. The "Rich- 
mond" was replaced by the "Henry Etta," the "Dodo" by 
the "Lady of the Lake." Instead of being three or four 
weeks on a trip to Pensacola and back, it could be made 
easily in one week. The barges on the Choctawhatchie 
River were followed by the steam boats that found 
watery graves in that river. The "Julian" — the 8th of 
January — the "Mary Clifton" and the "New Boston" 
that old Captain Berry and John B. Croft brought out 
here. When they entered this river it was as nature 
left it, and there was a ready snag for every boat to 
hang on that tried to navigate its waters. Freeport was 



178 History of Walton County. 

established, and regular weekly trips were made from 
there to Pensacola by sail boats. And the Valley Scotch- 
men found it much easier to haul their products to 
Freeport and get their merchandise in return, than to 
pole their boats up the river to the Stories and Scotch 
Landings: so commerce was being increased. 

Some may ask where did the trade come from that 
kept a boat running on this line once a week? There 
was a plenty of it, and it increased as the years went by. 
There was the abundant product of the farm through 
the fall and winter months. There were the chickens 
and eggs in abundance all the time, dried venison, the 
fatted lamb, the pig, the goat, tallow, raw hides, bees- 
wax, salt fish, honey, deer skins, bear's and panther's 
skins, furs, and the gopher. 

The large framed Valley Church took the place of the 
age-old hewn log church ; and they have now a stationed 
minister and the word preached to from three to four 
hundred people regularly on the 1st and 3rd Sabbath 
in every month. The other Sabbaths were given to mis- 
sion work, — and this order has followed unto this day. 
The Knox Hill Academy with its advanced education, 
takes the place of the little log school houses that dotted 
our country, and it is doing its finest work. Young men 
and young ladies are being launched out on life's sea 
for a higher and a better work. 

What a prosperous, blessed country! What a happy 
appreciative people ! The marvel of the passer-by. Happy 
in their homes, in their families; their slaves contented 
in their homes and multiplying. — up to this time only 
four of our negroes had died ; three of them died of 
senility. — Uncles George and Sam and Aunt Milley, and 
Esther, a young girl that died of a burn. Their granaries 



The: Lotus Land. 179 

were overflowing, and their cattle feeding on a thousand 
hills. A bright blue sky is above their heads, and a 
carpet of green pastures at their feet. The stately oak, 
the nutting trees, the lofty pines with their sharp needle 
foliage standing in their easy natural places all about. 
How readily these could have joined in with the Psalmist 
in his song of the harvest home, that issued later in the 
song of the reapers, "Thou crownest the years with thy 
goodness. Thy paths drop fatness; they drop upon the 
pastures of the wilderness and the little hills rejoice on 
every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks, the 
valleys also are covered over with corn ; they shout for 
joy, they also sing!" 

The Earliest Schools. 

These pioneers knew the value of an education. 
They sought strenuously from the beginning to 
procure good, available teachers. They dotted the 
valley with little round log school houses, with floors 
and seats made of puncheons, and a heavy puncheon or 
huge slabs resting on pegs in the side of the house for a 
writing table, with half of the log in front of this table 
cut out, the full length of the table, to serve as a window 
to let the light in for the scribes. The cracks between 
the logs were never ceiled, all left open. There was a 
stick and clay chimney in one end for the winter fires. 
There were no such things as steel pens in those early 
days. The goose quill was used altogether, and in select- 
ing a teacher one of the prerequisites was to see that he 
had a good pen knife, and that he could make a good 
pen and set a good copy. If he passed in these, he gener- 
ally passed in all. The ink used was home-made and 



180 History of Walton County. 

was generally pressed from the poke berries. There was 
a school at the Ridge, at Knox Hill, Valley Church, 
Euchee Anna, Mossy Bend, Hickory Springs and at 
Colonel McKinnon's "Old Place," — he kept a school there 
for a while for his and his neighbors' children. Mark A. 
Cook taught this school and it was under his pedagogical 
skill that the writer learned his "A, B, C's." He wrote 
a beautiful hand and could make a good pen. 

Professor Henry taught at Knox Hill, Rev. Robinson 
at Valley Church. Henry taught too, at Euchee Anna 
and several other places. Major J. M. Landrum, father 
of our Dr. Landrum, taught at Euchee Anna. Dr. A. D. 
McKinnon at Mossy Bend. These were considered pret- 
ty fair teachers for those times, but these soon found 
better places, in the ministry, at the forum and in medi- 
cine. Then there came a class of "board-arounds-with- 
the-children-teachers." These got poor pay, and gave 
poor "teach." They were pretty much after the order 
of Ichabod Crane of Sleepy Hollow. The most of the 
pupils had to walk three and four miles to these schools. 
What a stir now if there is a mile to tramp to our better 
schools. 




I;EV. JOHN NEWTON. 



The Lotus Land. 181 



Chapter XX. 

John Newton, the Teacher. 

Now, there was a better day coming in education for 
these anxious people. Honest seeking after knowledge 
will be rewarded. "We must educate — we must edu- 
cate or we must perish," was their motto. Six years 
before McLendon and his party made their way on the 
Indian trail to "Sam Story's" camp at the "Old Place," 
there was a boy born, — April 33, 1814, near Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania, to educate their generations. His parents 
died when he was quite small. He commenced working 
about from place to place where he could get schools to 
go to, when he was only large enough to carry drinking 
water to the laborers in the fields. Schools were quite 
scarce in that 'far West' country at that time ; but he 
worked and went to school when he could ; and worked 
himself into Amherst College, Massachusetts, when he 
was quite a young man. When he was through there, 
he came down into North Carolina among the old Scotch 
people and taught his first school for them. Then he, 
like most young men of that day, goes farther West, to 
Arkansas and then leaves Arkansas for Florida, intend- 
ing to go to Tampa,— "Man proposes, but God disposes." 
He drifted into Pensacola and took in the town, and in 
a little while, in a quiet way, without obtrusion, as none 
but he could do, learned all about that city, its people 
and surroundings. This was in the fall of 1848. He 
learned through old Dr. Brosnaham and other Spanish 
merchants there, of the Choctawhatchie Country and the 



182 History of Walton County. 

Scotch settlers in the Euchee Valley, and their efforts to 
educate, getting his information of this country and its 
people from the same source that McLendon got his 
from, nearly three decades before, but to find a different 
people or nation. And these merchantmen cited him for 
further or fuller information, as they did McLendon, to 
those in charge of a produce market boat, that made reg- 
ular weekly trips up the bay. But when they introduced 
him, on arrival of the schooner, to the men in charge, 
instead of their being tall, stout, red faced men that 
they introduced McLendon to, they were two pale 
faced young men. Dr. A. D. McKinnon and Captain 
C. L. McKinnon. in charge of the schooner. These 
merchantmen gave the \'alley people a good send -off 
in introducing this young prospector to these young 
boatmen. This is in substance what they said, — "Mr. 
John Newton, these are young McKinnons, sons of one 
of our up the bay customers for many years. Mr. New- 
ton is an educated man, has taught school some, we 
would like to retain him in our town, but there is no 
college or high school here, in fact there is such little 
interest taken here among our heterogeneous peoples, we 
didn't feel that we. like we are, could encourage him to 
stop with us. We told him of our many Scotch friends 
in the Valley and that these people were very much in- 
terested in education, that they are always inquiring 
after better teachers, and that we did not believe he could 
go among a better or a more intelligent people. — a people 
who would take good care of him and know how to ap- 
preciate worth." and they asked them to take charge of 
him and give him such information about the countr}-^ 
and peoples as he would like to know. They had him go 
on board the schooner "Henrietta" with them. He soon 



The Lotus Land. 183 

took in the situation there, asked several intelligent and 
pointed questions about the way, the people and the coun- 
try, and arranged to sail with them early the next morn- 
ing. On good time they loosed from the wharf and with 
a fair wind they were soon across Pensacola Bay, doubled 
Town Point, and headed up Santa Rosa Sound with a 
good stifif wind, and as they glided through the beautiful 
clear waters of the Sound and Narrows, with the main- 
land on the left, with its green grass and stately pines, 
and Santa Rosa's Island on the right, with its white sands 
protecting them from the surging waters of the gulf, the 
young Newton, like all lovers of nature's works that are 
fresh from His hands, untarnished by man, was much 
pleased, yes, more than pleased, he was charmed with 
its beauties on every hand, as they sailed by. And it 
was then he had a desire for a home by the sea shore 
along these clear protected waters, where his eyes could 
feast upon these beautiful green-thatched mounds, and 
hear the murmur of the great waters as they were 
checked up by these white sands ; that was never satisfied 
until in years afterwards, when he built him a home, a 
lovely home in a grove on the mainland along the quiet 
waters of the Narrows, nearly opposite the Ladies' Walk 
on the island, and called this home "Mary Esther" for 
his wife and daughters. 

They left these friendly waters and entered the more 
turbulent Choctawhatchie Bay, passed through this and 
up the Four Mile Creek, a little ways to the commercial 
town of Free Port, On the next evening my brothers 
carried him up with them to our father's, Colonel McKin- 
non, ten miles away on the valley at the "Old Place" 
and left him in his charge. 



184 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXI. 

Medley in their Physique and in Attaining Aims. 

It is well to note here the medley of similarities and 
dissimilarities in the making up, the aims, and the infor- 
mation gained, that led McLendon and Newton to the 
same country to carry out their purposes in life. The 
one was a stout, brawny, middle aged man of Scotch ex- 
traction, from the heart of the South, — the other a slen- 
der, fragile young man of Puritan extraction, from the 
heart of the North, — one has a common school education, 
the other a collegiate, — in faith they are both Presby- 
terians, and are pioneers, the one in the physical realm 
of nature, the other in the domain of the mental, the in- 
tellectual. They both come to the same place, the Land 
of Flowers, Pensacola, and receive information from the 
same source, the Spanish merchants and market boats 
that led them to the same locality, the "Old Place," — 
the first coming 28 years before the latter, on a trail way 
over land — the latter on God's long prepared road, a 
water way ; the information from the market boat, that 
led the first directly on his trail way to the "Old Place" 
was received from red faces, aborigines. That received 
from the market boat by the second that led him directly 
on his water way to the "Old Place" came through the 
pale faces, sons of a pioneer. 

When they finish up their work here, and feel that 
they are not appreciated, and want more "elbow room," 
the first turns his face to the West and goes by water 
never to return again : the second, like him, turns his 



The Lotus Land. 185 

face towards the farther West, but goes over land; and 
at the call of many friends, returns to finish up his work, 
and now sleeps in a grave overshadowed by his great 
work. Quite a mixture of times and of ways and of 
means and of purposes to the same end — education, in 
the physical cultivating in the mental, in the moral. 

The young Newton remained with the Colonel from 
Friday night until the Sunday morning next. The Col. 
was much pleased with his conversation, his learning and 
his manners. He was 5 feet, 6 inches high, and weighed 
110 pounds — was straight and slender, had large round 
head, covered with a heavy coat of dark hair, that never 
thinned; he had very large deep grayish blue eyes, — re- 
markable admixture in colors — marvellous eyes, shaded 
with heavy eyebrows, and protected by long eyelashes ; 
these flashy, piercing eyes, rolled searchingly beneath a 
prominent forehead, and lit up a dark sallow complected 
face. You could but be impressed in his presence ; he 
was very prepossessing in his quiet way ; away from him, 
you could hardly point out the striking features that im- 
pressed you. lOn Sabbath morning the Col. took him to 
the Valley Church, I will let Mr. Newton tell of his in- 
troduction there; I heard him tell it often with delight. 
"It was a bright sunshiny day, but pretty cold. There 
were quite a number of old Scotch elders and others in 
their substantial home-spun jeans, suits of blue and dark 
brown ; some sitting on the long door-steps basking in the 
sunshine, while others stood around them under and lean- 
ing against the great oaks that stood in front of the 
church. The Col. introduced me to all of them, telling 
them where I was from and how I came. I received a 
handshake welcome that I rarely met with in any other 
country. I met there Archibald McCallum, Daniel Mc- 



186 History of Walton County. 

Lean, Daniel Campbell, John Gillis, several McDonalds, 
and a host of other Macks. After the hand-shake, some 
of them resumed their seats on the steps, among them 
was Archibald McCallum, whose fingers were drawn with 
the rheumatism, and he sat resting his hands on his 
knees, and talked to me. In a little while there walked 
up a stout, chunky, jolly looking man, his florid face cov- 
ered with smiles and contentment. The Colonel intro- 
duced him to me as Elder Daniel S. McLean, who gave 
me the same hearty greeting and hand-shake, accom- 
panied with words of welcome. He then went around 
and shook hands with all the rest and inquired after their 
welfare. When he came to McCallum sitting on the 
steps, he said, 'And how do you feel today, Archie?' 'O, 
I feel badly, badly.' Donald S. replied in his broad 
Scotch brogue, saying, 'Pshaw ! there is nothing the mat- 
ter with you, Archie; Arch, you have just got the hypo.' 
Archie straightened himself up a little and said, 'You 
are a liar, you are a liar, "Chunky;" you are a liar, sir!' 
All understood the joke and seemed to appreciate it, 
laughing heartily, especially "Chunky;" and I thought 
the good old soul would split his sides laughing." 
"Chunky" no doubt felt tht he had made a ten strike 
in taking that joke on his friend and neighbor, Archie." 
It no doubt seemed strange to the young Presbyterian 
collegiate to see old Elders taking such rough jokes on 
each other in front of the church on the Sabbath day, 
but he soon learned to understand them, and that their 
quaint way of expressing themselves was with no irrev- 
erent meaning. This little episode calls to mind a clip- 
ping that came to my hands a few days ago, and I give 
it here with due deference and reverence to all to bring 
out further the true Scotch-Irish characteristics of their 



The Lotus Land. 187 

kin that went up into the mountains, when they came to 
the valley. 

"KENTUCKY, FAIR LAND, famed for heroic men, 
lovely women, horses, whiskey and lavish hospitality, 
from whence came the McDowells, the Aliens and Har- 
risons, men who have fertilized the Nation with their 
genius, culture and blood. Col. E. C. McDowell, in de- 
scribing the traits of the less favored citizens of Ken- 
tucky, the mountaineers, (diamonds in the rough) men- 
tions a characteristic mountaineer from his State, Jim 
Mullens, a Corporal in Col. McDowell's command dur- 
ing the Civil War. Jim, like his kin, always used strong 
expressive language. After the war, Jim got religion 
and returned to his mountain home to preach and ex- 
hort. In one of his addresses to a Sunday School class 
he urged the boys to live right and tote fair. In closing 
his appeal to the class he said: 

So live each day. 

That you can look every damned man 

In the face and say, 

Go to Hell. 

Poor Jim died last year. His Sunday School Class buried 
him and placed a Stone over his tomb with the following 
epitaph : 



188 History of Walton County. 



HERE LIES JIM MULLENS, AGED 66 YEARS, 

He did his damdest, 
He could do no more. 

"For of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." 



An honest tribute from friendly souls who expressed 
their appreciation for the departed as best they could." 



The Lotus Land. 189 

Chapter XXIL 

Newton the Knox Hill Teacher. 

lAfter the sermon was preached that day they held a 
conference and it was agreed that they would meet the 
next day at the Henry School house, that stood near a 
spring N. E. of the Morrison place at Old Knoxhill, and 
several hundred yards N. W. of where the Academy was 
built. The Campbells, McLeans, Gunns, Morrisons, Gil- 
lises, McCaskills, McPhersons, and McDonalds, were 
well represented in that meeting, and they arranged then 
and there for John Newton to be their teacher and for 
him to commence in the little Henry school house with 
the understanding that a better house would be built out 
of the best material at hand. The school commenced 
right away. And a good sized split log house was built 
on the top of the hill, well proportioned and far ahead of 
any building of its kind in the country; and it was fur- 
nished with single desks and black boards. The school 
was moved in a little while into this building. In a year 
or two the school improved so that the building would 
not accommodate the school, and a large two-story frame 
building was put up in front of the log building. One 
could stand in the upper story of this building and see 
the smoke of the steamers as they moved up and down 
the winding stream of the Choctawhatchie, — could see 
the contour of Oak and Orange Hills over the river thirty 
miles away in Washington County, like two little twin 
mountains asleep in each others embrace. 



190 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXIII. 

School in Center of Valley. 

This old Knoxhill in the center of the Valley is one 
of the most beautiful elevated places in the county, com- 
manding a splendid view in every direction, that took 
in the beauties of nature in the Valley. The very ideal 
of a natural place for a school or college. This new 
building was nicely painted and ceiled, with black-boards 
set in the walls. Great maps of both hemispheres, seven 
feet square, hung upon the walls in the back of the build- 
ing, and on either side of the teacher's rostrum ; on the 
wall was all sizes of recitation maps. The two rooms 
were well furnished. This building presented quite an 
imposing appearance to the passers-by from the public 
road, as they went to and fro from Pensacola to Talla- 
hassee. Completed and furnished, the school was moved 
in and went on without a jar, until there was from 85 
to 100 regular pupils matriculated. The larger students 
were put upstairs on their trusted good behavior ; the 
little people were kept below under the watchful eye of 
the teacher. When there was trouble above, those giv- 
ing it were brought down and given seats in the front 
of the lower room, which often happened when they got 
ofT of their dignity. The steady rapid growth and the 
results in education became the wonder of West Florida 
and South Alabama. Many would come to see the Knox 
Hill Academy and the wonderful teacher. The other 
schools mentioned that dotted the Valley melted away 
under its shining light. Those that lived too far away 



1 



The Lotus Land. 191 

to send their children from home and were able to board, 
sent them, and those not able, moved nearer by. But 
a great many of the pupils, especially the larger ones, 
were transient boarders, from Pensacola, Vernon, Ma- 
rianna, Quincy, and Geneva, Alabama, and some from 
Georgia and from the wealthy farmers around these 
towns. It was a well advertised school by its work, and 
had many ardent friends outside of Walton, — Judge 
Wright of Pensacola, Dr. Philips and Tom White of 
Marianna, Wm. J. Keyser and Col. George W. Walker 
of Milton. Walker spent a great deal of his time in 
Walton and would often visit the school and hear the 
recitations and published its praise where he went, as 
• the best school he had ever entered. He was, at his own 
volition, a live traveling, working agent for the school 
as long as he lived ; and knew more of its worth than 
any outside man. The people from a distance learning 
of the strict dicipline in the school, and the wholesome 
management of bad boys, and that the teacher would 
keep them in their places at all hazards, would bring 
their boys and girls from other schools, where they were 
giving trouble and put them in this school. These pupils 
made teaching burdensome and hard on the teacher and 
the other pupils, until they were broken in, and the trus- 
tees often protested against taking them, but he inva- 
riably felt that it was his duty to take them ; and we 
don't know of his having to expel a single pupil during 
all the years that he taught here. His motto was, "You 
must learn and obey." This motto was carried out 
strictly to the letter and spirit, for his was an advanced 
education from the start, lessons from and outside of 
books — lessons from nature — how to protect dumb 
brutes, and the little birds and growing trees. 



192 History of Walton County. 

The school was a Presbyterian Synodical, religious, 
educational institution. He opened his school every 
morning by the school reading the scriptures, singing a 
hymn, and prayers. He had recitations every Wednes- 
day evening, lessons in the Shorter Catechism and every 
one had to recite these lessons as promptly as they did 
their other lessons. There were Methodist, Baptist and 
Catholic, as well as Presbyterians, in this school. Some 
of the Catholic boys protested, saying "their church didn't 
believe in the teachings of this Presbyterian book, and 
their parents did not want them to study it." He said 
the book was not made by Presbyterians, but by men 
wisely chosen in the most cultured age in all our history, 
and from the different faiths, and it was only called Pres- 
byterian because they believed it was right ; and it made 
no difference whether they believed in it or not, it would 
do them no harm, but good, to know it, and they "must" 
know it ; and most of their parents rather than take them 
out of the school had them to remain and learn. 
Laboratory. 

He had fitted up a laboratory that would have done 
credit to many of our colleges today. The split log 
house was used as the laboratory building for experi- 
ments in chemistry and physics, giving the school illus- 
trative lessons once a week, which were looked forward 
to with much interest for enjoyment. He got up a good 
big, well assorted library with many readable uplifting 
books. He segregated the old blue back speller, and 
kept none but the popular text-books of the day. He 
had, once a week, declamations, compositions and oral 
and written discussions on subjects that he would name. 
He had oral critics from the school on the exercises of 
that day, and one selected to have a written one to be 



The Lotus Land. 193 

read at the following week's exercises. In these exer- 
cises he took great pains to instill patriotism into the 
young minds and hearts of the pupils. He had the big 
American speaker, and would have the larger pupils to 
learn and deliver with feeling, the stirring speeches of 
Patrick Henry, Clay, Calhoun, Webster and others, on 
love of country. 



194 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXIV. 

Fourth July. 

On the ith of July he had the older boys — the graduat- 
ing class, to get up a big barbecue and had them to pre- 
pare and deliver original patriotic speeches under his 
correction, and had one of them read the Declaration of 
Independence. He procured Washington Polk, an old 
noted drummer, to beat the drum for the school to march 
by, and one to blow the fife, which made up the instru- 
mental music for the occasion. Pretty much all Wal- 
ton were seated under or about that great brush arbor, 
and the school seated on the platform, orators in front. 
The vocal music was led by Dr. Kirkpatrick, who led the 
school in ringing tones, opening with "America." Then 
the Declaration of Independence was read in a loud, dis- 
tinct voice. Then Young America — the Academic ora- 
tors, one after another, stepped to the front of the stage 
in their order and made the woods ring with their patri- 
otic orations. After the speaking, a sumptuous well 
cooked barbecue dinner was served after the regular 4th 
of July style, — but in decency and in order, for there was 
a "manager" there. This was a grand enjoyable occas- 
ion in front of the old Academy, and under the auspices 
of the graduating Academics, overlooked by their teach- 
er. This was the first 4th of July celebration of the 
kind in Walton, and we may say even the best. Mr. 
Newton was very fond of music, but had no voice of 
melody to make it. He would always raise the morning 
hymns in opening his school, until he had gotten some 



The Lotus Land. 195 

of the boys trained for it, — but the boys said he raised 
them all to the same tune, "There is a Happy Land." 
He understood the rudiments of music and taught sight- 
reading to the school. He was the first to introduce the 
blind notes in Walton. 

He was very anxious to procure a good music teacher 
for his school. Finally there came this Dr. Kirkpatrick, 
who was a master in vocal and stringed instrumental 
music ; and he secured him to give his school lessons in 
reading and vocal exercises once a week in the evenings ; 
he had no instrument save the violin, and he used this 
in assisting in the pitch : we all enjoyed this very much, 
especially when he would give us some lively music at 
the close. 

In the course of time there was a piano introduced in 
the settlement, then another and another. Then he sent 
off and procured the services of a young lady graduate 
to teach the young lassies in this school and arranged for 
the use of a piano. 

He taught nine months in the year, in terms of three 
months, commencing the first of January, giving a month 
vacation between each term. At the end of each term he 
had a public examination in all the studies ; and a pub- 
lic exhibition in declamations, essays, debating and dia- 
logues ; all had to take some part in these. On one of 
these occasions he had his music teacher to drill the 
music class in some familiar short pieces or easy exercise, 
to play on the stage on exhibition day. She protested 
strenuously, saying that they had only been taking les- 
sons five months and weren't proficient enough in music 
to play in public. But he insisted, said there would not 
be much expected of them and that they would be that 
much farther on at the close of the next term. The las- 



196 History of Walton County. 

sies went to him and plead with him, telling him that 
they knew so little that it was too embarrassing for them 
to expose their ignorance in public. He told them there 
would be no one there able to criticize them except their 
teacher, and that they must practice and do their best, 
and that was all that was asked of them. So teacher 
and pupils realized whom they were dealing with, and 
there was no use in trying to turn down his will ; and so 
they went to work practicing with all the skill they 
could summons. The piano was put in place the day be- 
fore the entertainment, and they had several rehearsals 
in his presence and he was much pleased with their lit- 
tle pieces. 

Early in the evening of the day before the entertain- 
ment, it was learned that a lady professional from Milton 
was up to enjoy the musical feast of the next day — a Mrs. 
John G. McLean. This, of course, cast a gloom over the 
musical department of the day. The thought of being 
criticized by a professional, and she a lady critic. In the 
early next morning to add to the gloom, the word came 
that their young music teacher was sick and could not 
be there, — of course she was, enough to make her sick. 
So the young music pupils felt relieved and went to the 
principal and told him the news and asked him if they 
would not have to abandon the musical part, as they had 
no one to direct them. He very emphatically said, "No, 
I'll direct you, you all know your pieces and must play 
them," and when the time came, they did play them, and 
the professional said they all did well for the short time 
they had been taking lessons. Yet the most of them de- 
clared they were so embarrassed when they sat at the 
piano they were not able to separate for a moment one 
key on the board from another, that to them it was a 



The Lotus Land. 197 

streak of black and a streak of white, that it was through 
the force of habit or practice that they struck the right 
keys. The old hero carried his point and the people 
were pleased as never before, so you can get at an idea 
of what kind of a teacher he was from this little inci- 
dent. The lady professional was gallanted to the piano 
by Mr. Newton, and her white fingers galloped over the 
keys, touching the white and the black here and there, 
rolling out such stirring music as was never heard in 
Walton before. It was then and there that we knew 
what a piano was, and how much music there was in 
one. This was another crowning day in Knox Hill 
Academy work, and it introduced many another piano 
into Walton. 

Mr. Newton advanced pupils in his Academic course, 
high enough to enter, on a rigid examination, the regu- 
lar sophomore class at Oglethorpe College, in its best 
days and highest curriculum. He advanced young men 
that went direct from his school to the study of law at 
home. He prepared a class of brilliant young men for 
the law school at Lebanon, Tennessee, who graduated 
with honors and bid fair to be ornaments to the profes- 
sion, and was an honor to Walton and our State ; but that 
cruel war claimed the most of them. One of them had 
attained the rank of Colonel, others Majors and Captains, 
before they fell on the bloody field. 

Mr. Newton was a natural pedagogue, he knew just 
how to get to his pupils' minds and hearts. It took him 
but a little while to size up a boy or girl and know what 
was in them. He was a wonderful judge of human 
nature. He taught eight hours regularly every school 
day, and did a great deal of extra teaching in the morn- 
ings and evenings and at noons. He commenced each 



198 History of Walton County. 

quarter's term on Wednesday morning, so that the pupils 
from a distance would not have to travel on the Sabbath 
to be present at the beginning. He held Sabbath school 
every Sabbath evening in the Academy, he was superin- 
tendent and required all the pupils to be present, unless 
they had a good excuse. It was a very interesting 
school. He went in the morning to church at the Valley 
and sat in the gallery in the midst of the boys. No boy 
was allowed to fight, swear or chew tobacco. You 
would never see a girl or boy sitting in the school room 
with dirty hands and faces or finger nails in mourning. 
If their clothes were coarse or common, they had to be 
worn right. He not only kept close to his pupils through 
the day, but he made regular rounds after supper to see 
if they were preparing their early morning lessons. If 
any or all of the class failed at the regular recitation, he 
stayed in with them at noon or in the evening until the 
lessons were properly recited. I have known him to stay 
in with pupils until he had to light the candles for them 
to study by ; and would often have to go with the smaller 
ones a mile or two. who were afraid to go home in the 
dark. When he exhausted all other means to make 
them "learn and obey." he never failed to use the rod 
freely. Many complained at his whipping too severely, 
but it amounted to nothing. I never knew of one taking 
his child from school or of a pupil resisting his chastise- 
ment, and it came often and severe, irrespective of size, 
age. sex or previous conditions. In his last years of 
teaching he used the rod sparingly, learned a better way. 
when he had fewer and better scholars. If you sent 
your child to school to him three months, you 'knew he 
had learned. I know of dull boys, almost stupid, of 
whom he made first rate scholars, who would never have 



The Lotus Land. 199 

amounted to anything at the common schools. You 
would hear complaints at his severe discipUne, but never 
at his "not teaching their children well." You hear the 
unrestraining parents of today and the unrestrained 
pupils of this generation saying, "If he had treated one 
of my children that way I would have gone for him with- 
out gloves," "I would run away from school and live in 
the woods before I would study and be treated that 
way,"— and all such talk, when we know they would 
have submitted as we did under similar conditions, know- 
ing that he was making of them better sons and daugh- 
ters. I heard lots of the boys swear that when they 
grew up they would whip him out of sight, and I have 
seen these same boys grow up into manhood in his pres- 
ence, honoring him above all other men with their praise. 
See that those over whom you have control will do their 
whole duty and they will love and respect you. 

He often laughed at little incidents that occurred in the 
school, and the boys were always ready to laugh out with 
him, they said it helped keep ofif the blues; but some- 
times they missed and laughed at the wrong time, and 
got a thrashing. 

One declamation evening he called on a bright little 
red headed, black eyed boy to read his composition. He 
jumped up and read aloud,— "The Rabbit. The rabbit 
has long ears, big eyes and a white tail about one inch 
'short. " "Long, John," said Mr. Newton. "No, sir, it 
is short," and read right on. That short retort brought 
down the school, and brought no chastisement. 

The boys used to say they had signs by which they 
could divine whether the day was going to be an easy 
or a hard day,— if he came whirling his walking cane in 
his right hand (he was left handed) or lifted his hat 



200 History of Walton County. 

from his head and ran his fingers through his heavy head 
of hair, or if he used the Lord's prayer in opening the 
school, they knew to be on their "p' and q's." The bet- 
ter sign for a good day or a bad day would have been to 
ask ourselves, did we employ the evenings in preparing 
our morning lessons, or did we waste them. 



The Lotus Land. 201 



Chapter XXV. 



Lessons Outside of Books. 

He had an aversion to eccentricity or oddity in man- 
ners. The roll being called, the pupils all answer "here," 
except a freshman from some little town who answers 
"present." "Sam, the roll is called to learn who are here, 
— "here" is a proper answer ; you answer "present," after 
this you answer "here," like the rest, and don't be odd 
and conspicuous, and you stand in prayer with the rest." 
To the rich farmer's boy with his kids on in school, 
"Will, pull off those gloves. Cats with gloves never 
catch mice." To the boy or girl with a sheet of paper 
written on one side and thrown into the waste basket, 
he would lift it up and say "Willful waste makes woeful 
want." 

You would never find the wolfish winds chasing waste 
paper around his grounds. This was before this waste- 
ful "Tablet Age." 

To the boy sticking his knife in one of the young trees 
on the grounds, "Why do you do this — how do you know 
but that this water that follows out the incision of your 
knife is not tears of the tree, as real as those that would 
flow from your eyes were Tto lacerate your body with 
this cane? Do this no more lest I make you realize what 
tears are." "He that planteth a tree is a benefactor to 
the human race." The boy that threw a stone at the 
little bird was called in and given lessons on ornithology: 
"He that would ruthlessly place his foot upon a worm, 
I would strike his name from my list of friends." 



202 History of Walton County. 

He was a great friend to dumb brutes. He loved the 
singing birds, the lowing herds, the bleating sheep and 
gave wholesome lessons on their treatment. But he 
hated the "grunting hog" and would chase him from his 
grounds. He would not eat a bit of them and we thought 
he was a Jew on this account for a long time. He had 
no carnivorous appetite. He lived on coffee, butter, bis- 
cuit, eggs, and now and then chicken and a little beef and 
fish. 

Let Every Tub Stand on its Own Bottom. 

The quarterly entertainment is coming around ; two 
lassies of fourteen summers feel that they must have 
help, other than their own to do justice to their class 
and age. They seek this help from a young lawyer, a 
graduate of the Academy, they ask him to let the help 
he gave them be in as plain, simple language as he could 
express himself in. They received the promised help in 
due time ; read, studied it over well, and met for consul- 
tation. One was very outspoken and said 'T can not 
use mine at all, I don't see where I could wedge in an 
idea that would pass as my own. When the teacher 
will see these well rounded up rhetorical flowery sen- 
tences and big words, he will know at once that it was 
not my production. What are you going to do about 
yours?" "Well," said the other in a more thoughtful 
mood, "I am thinking of getting some one to reduce it 
to its 'lowest terms,' and may be then I can work on it J 
nd get enough of my thoughts in it to make it pass." It ) 
is enough to say they fell back on their own resources | 
and did not attempt to pass it on to their teacher, which ' 
was the better. 



The Lotus Land. 203 

His Aesthetic Nature. 

He was exceedingly tasteful in his home, in his grounds 
and in his dress. Though they be ever plain, they had 
to be in decency and in order ; and he impressed this vir- 
tue on his school. He was a great admirer of curbed 
fashion, or style in dress, especially with the ladies. He 
encouraged these tastes in his school : he wanted his lady 
pupils to have their Scotch plaid dresses in good style, 
in good taste, and their head wear in good shape. He 
was a subscriber for "The Ladies Bazaar," a ladies fash- 
ion journal with the latest Paris styles, and instructions 
for cutting, fitting and measuring, the first of its kind in- 
troduced in Walton. He took great pride in passing it 
around among his lady pupils and ladies of the Valley 
which brought about a neatness and style that was pleas- 
ing to him, a grace in fashion's beauty that made Wal- 
ton's daughters more winsome. 

His Ethical Nature. 

He never liked to discuss enigmatical points in bible 
history with the caviler who cared nothing about the 
"weightier matter of the law," who cared to know noth- 
ing about the salvation of his soul ; but rather avoided 
such a discussion. He was passing down Choctaw- 
hatchie Bay with a Jew who was loaded with catchy 
questions and thought himself real smart. Mr. Newton 
turned him down several times, answering him accord- 
ing to his folly, and tried to avoid him. After a while 
he thought he had him cornered and said to him, "Mr. 
Newton, there is one thing about the bible that always 
bothered me, 'Cain went into the land of Nod, and there 
he knew his wife; now where did his wife come from?" 



204 History of Walton County. 

Mr. Newton replied. "There is but one thing that bothers 
me about that marriage. Cain was a very, very wicked 
man, killed his own dear brother, and I am afraid he 
didn't make a very good husband." He boarded the 
steamer "C Fischer" at Mary Esther as a passenger for 
Pensacola. It was a very cold windy day, there were 
quite a lot of passengers on board, he entered the cabin 
and found them all seated around the heater, not a vacant 
chair. A young man from up the bay, on his way to a 
medical college bounced up out of his seat, called to 
him to take the seat he had vacated for him. Mr. New- 
ton turned to the seated crowd and said, "I have trav- 
eled several times from the lakes to the Gulf and from 
ocean to ocean and this is the first time on the public 
thoroughfares of our country I ever saw a young man 
surrender his seat to an older man." Quite a compli- 
ment to that young man ; and let me say here, that young 
man is being blessed bountifully in this world's goods. 

When he lived at the Narrows he got on board of a 
schooner at Mary Esther to come up to Freeport ; after 
they had sailed away up to the head of the Narrows, he 
looked down into the boat's cabin and saw several pas- 
sengers sitting around a table with their jug, smoking, 
playing cards and using profane language ; he quietly 
asked the Captain to drop his anchor and put him out 
and he would walk back home ; that the night was too 
cold for him to stay on deck all night ; and the fume was 
too much for him in the cabin. When the anchor was 
dropped the men came from the cabin ; met him on deck 
while they were getting the skiff boat ready. They be- 
haved very respectfully in his presence. When the Cap- 
tain returned, these men still standing on deck, asked 
him why he had abandoned the ship? He told them 



The Lotus Land. 305 

who he was and why he had gone back home. They 
exclaimed, "We are ashamed of ourselves, can't you call 
him back, it will be away in the night before he reaches 
his home." "Yes," said the Captain, "for it is a six mile 
walk, but there is no use for us to try to stop him." 
These men told the writer afterwards that they were 
ashamed to go to his office in passing Mary Esther. 

He was teaching, and we hope this pointed lesson did 
them good. A young man in no good condition entered 
his home puffing away at his pipe and said, "How are 
you all today?" "We are all very well, but we will not 
be so long if you keep on puffing that pipe." The young 
man's father told me of the insult and was very much in- 
censed at it, said he had befriended him during the war 
at the Navy Yard when he was passing through the 
lines, and he was going for him when he met him for 
treating his son so badly and that his son was going to 
give him a piece of his mind the next time he met him. 
I told the father that that was no insult, that was his 
friendly way of correcting the young man, that he was 
just teaching. The young man passed there often, said 
nothing and smoked nothing, and that was the last of it. 

Some of the Effects of His Teaching. 

In passing from Mary Esther to Euchee Anna, he 
stopped a while in Freeport. They had no preacher or 
church building there and they asked him if he would 
not stop on his return and preach for them in the school 
house. He kindly consented to preach for them on the 
coming Sabbath. They were glad, and published it. He 
came promptly, had a pretty good congregation, preached, 
and his congregation went to their own houses. "Rev. 
Newton went unto the mount of Olives." No one asked 



206 History of Walton County. 

him home with them. There was no hotel in the place at 
that time. It was all business. He remained in the 
school house where he had preached, reading his bible 
until he got cold; and as there was no heater in the 
house, he went out and rolled some small logs together 
and gathered up chunks of lightwood, and soon had a 
good fire and warmed himself. Mr. Rossin, the poorest 
man in Freeport, but the good Samaritan, saw the light 
of his fire when it was dark and went out and had him 
to come to his house and lodged him for the night. 
Some of his friends who would have been "sure" to have 
asked him home with them forgot about the preaching 
and were not there. Now, what a sore rebuke this was 
to those who forgot the assembling of themselves to- 
gether on the Lord's day for worship, and they sorely 
felt it, too, and to those who cared not to entertain strang- 
ers, these will never entertain angels unawares. He was 
teaching by object lessons. 

He was wanting a good milk cow and asked a friend 
of his in Freeport if he would purchase one for him. He 
said he thought he knew of one that would suit him. So 
he left the money with him to make the purchase. The 
cow was sent down by the friend's freight boat. In get- 
ting her on the wharf at Mary Esther, through careless- 
ness and indifference, they broke her leg and injured 
her in other ways, rendering her worthless as a milker. 
Mr. Newton, of course, was much displeased at the wan- 
ton carelessness and indifference of the Captain and his 
men in handling the cow. He wrote a short spicy let- 
ter to his friend about her treatment and condition ; in 
the main to have the Captain and men corrected. In 
answer his friend wrote, "I bought the cow, fed her a 
week here, put her on board of the boat, sent her down 



Th^ Lotus Land. 207 

and put her out on the wharf for you, and now you don't 
seem to be satisfied." The following was the reply, "You 
boast you bought and fed the cow for me a week. I gave 
you the money to make the purchase, and if the milk did 
not pay for the feed it must have been a poor purchase. 
You boast that you put her on board of schooner, shipped 
her and delivered her on the wharf. I have always under- 
stood that it was the duty of a merchantman, owning a 
freight boat, to load and unload freight. I paid the 
freight as charged and you made the delivery, such as it 
was. Now you seem to think you have been a great 
benefactor to the old cow, come down and knock her in 
the head, get her out of her misery, and finish up the 
good work." This closed the correspondence ; but there 
was a little feeling left. Some time afterwards his friend 
was passing down on his boat to Pensacola. It was in 
the night time when they passed Mary Esther, and 
knowing that Mr, Newton never liked for his friends to 
pass without calling, he said to this same Captain of his 
boat, as he left the schooner in skiff boat to go out to the 
office, "If you tell Mr. Newton I am aboard, say to him 
that I would have gone out to see him, but I was not 
feeling well." The message was delivered. When the 
Captain returned, Mr. Newton would go out to the 
schooner with him, notwithstanding it was a dark, cold, 
windy night, and the captain tried to hinder him on this 
account ; but he would go, saying, "Shall I have a friend 
who is sick and sends me word that if he had not been 
sick he would have come to see me, and I, who am well, 
refuse to go to see him, and he so close by and so easily 
reached? I will go and see him." He went, and there 
was never more the least bit of hard feelings between 
them. This was the fruits of respect shown. 



208 History of Walton County. 

Conductor Discharged. 

The Presbyterian Church that he was pastor of at 
Mary Esther was under the government of the Northern 
General Assembly. When the Assembly met at Boston, 
Mr. Newton went as the representative of this church. 
He got a through ticket from Pensacola. Beyond At- 
lanta the conductor forgot to call out the station where 
the road branched off that he was to travel, and when the 
conductor found out that he was on the wrong road, he 
talked ugly to him and made him pay full rates to where 
he reached his road on which his ticket was good. On 
his return he stopped over a day in Atlanta, went to the 
official railroad headquarters in person, found ex-Gover- 
nor and ex-United States Senator Brown of Georgia 
president. He laid his cause before him. And Presi- 
dent Brown, without further inquiries, directed his sec- 
retary to write a discharge for that conductor and to re- 
fund Mr. Newton for all the money he was out. He said 
to President Brown : "It was not for the refunding of 
the money that I stopped, but I felt it my duty to see, 
as far as I am able, that public officials should be made 
to do their duty to the public." Public officials, for their 
own good, should be made to do their respective duties 
to the public." 

Respect Shown. 

He commanded respect wherever he went, especially 
among those who knew him. I remember on one occas- 
ion when he was passing through Freeport on to Euchee 
Anna, and was about to be left by a friend that came 
for him, and had been in waiting for some time, the boat 
that was to bring him having been belated, his friend 
started off, but was stopped by a call that "Mr. Newton 



The Lotus Land. 209 

was coming up from the dock," and as he was passing 
hurriedly by a store in which there were several of his 
old pupils, they all ran out on the street to shake hands 
with him in passing. And when they leisurely returned 
to their places in the store, each one picked up his cigar 
that he had respectfully and intuitively laid aside when 
they went out to meet him, neither knowing that the 
others had laid theirs down until it was observed on re- 
turning to them. Live so as the mere mentioning of 
your name calls for respect. There was nothing conven- 
tional or prolix in his work. His prayers were short 
and soul-stirring. His sermons were never longer 
than twenty-five minutes, but to the point. He 
preached a sermon that I would call an "arithmetic" 
sermon, that had more in it for its length than any ser- 
mon I ever heard. His voice was low and soft, but very 
distinct. He was very modest. Rev. R. Q. Baker, pas- 
tor of Church at DeFuniak Springs, would have him 
preach for him one Sabbath. He used part of the ser- 
mon on the mount, and after service he modestly re- 
marked to a friend, "Wasn't that the best sermon you 
ever heard?" and said to Mr. Baker, "The next time you 
make me preach I'll take for my sermon the shorter 
catechism." 



210 History of Walton County. 

Chapter XXVI. 
A Man of Few Words. 

He placed this notice to his patrons on the bulletin 
board, when getting ready to go to CaHfornia: "Notice. 
Let us settle up. John Newton." 

He hired a man with a horse and buggy to send him 
to Marianna. The horse sickened and died. This is the 
letter he wrote to the owner, save heading and date : 

"Mr. Calhoon: "Dear Sir, Your horse is dead. John 
Newton." This letter was crticised by some, saying that 
it was lacking in sympathy. He was never lacking in 
this. The driver came and could tell him more about 
the horse than he could. 

At Florida Chautauqua. 

He visited the Florida Chautauqua in its earliest 
years and was very much pleased with the entertain- 
ments and management, and made there, many new 
friends and acquaintances, and they were equally as well 
pleased with him. And when some years passed and he 
was coming no more and they wanted him to come, Dr. 
A. H. Gillette, superintendent for the management and 
self, sent him a complimentary ticket and sufficient 
funds to pay all expenses from his home and return. 
This was his reply to that complimentary, save heading, 
"Dear Dr. Gillette, Thank you and management for 
tickets and money. Conditions are such that I feel I 
ought to return same; 2nd Samuel, 19th Ch, 35 ver. 
Yours truly, John Newton." 



The Lotus Land. 211 

When post master at Mary Esther, the citizens near 
there wanted another post office. The regular form was 
presented to him for his approval or disapproval, with a 
blank of several lines for remarks, the spelling was laugh- 
ably bad. All the statements were correct. These were 
his words for the blank. "Correct except the spelling. 
John Newton, P. M." 

After he became a minister I addressed him as Rev- 
erend. He came to my desk with an envelope in one 
hand and a pencil in the other, and said to me, "That is 
your work?" I said "Yes, sir." He drew a pencil line 
across the "Rev." and said, "Just plain John." I knew 
after that to leave ofif the Rev. Don't presume on titles. 

Burying Ground Proposed and Improved. 

While living at Mary Esther, feeling that he would 
spend all his days there, he selected and improved a 
burying place on Santa Rosa Island, across from his 
home, on the top of one of those beautiful green thatched 
mounds, leaning over towards the Narrows and over- 
looking the Mexican Gulf, among tall pine trees. My 
wife and I visited the spot and thought nature had em- 
bellished the mound with its highest art. Yet he had 
planted other varieties of ever greens there, that seemed 
to know they must grow too in that white sand. I said 
to him, soon after the war, I got on the U. S. mail 
Steamer at Acqua Creek for Washington City, and as 
we steamed up the Potomac and when nearing Mount 
Vernon, the U. S. Mail Steamer commenced tolling its 
great bell in honor of the Father of his Country and 
kept it up until we were well beyond the place — that I 
thought it a beautiful way of showing honor to the dis- 



212 History of Walton County. 

tinguished grave ; and in the days to come I would see 
that the U. S. Mail Steamer "C. Fischer" would do his 
grave like honor. He thought I had reached high up for 
a pattern and was claiming some lease on life. Years 
after this pleasantry on so solemn a question, and not a 
great while before he took his departure, I asked him if 
he still wished to be buried on the Island. He answered 
me in the Latin tongue : "Tempora mutantur, et nos 
mutamur in illis." (The times are changed and we are 
changed with them). "I am Hke the old Scotchman I 
met while in California; he lived in a new town; there 
were two grave yards started, one on the hill, the other 
in the valley. The ladies in charge of the one in the val- 
ley thought they would be the 'early birds' and drum in 
time for their burying ground ; so they approached the 
old Scotchman in their modest way, and after apologiz- 
ing for their seeming previousness, they explained to him 
the advantages of their burying place over the one on the 
hill. Then they asked him if he would not agree with 
them to be buried in the valley when he died. The old 
gentleman thanked them very much for their interest in 
his last resting place and was pleased with the advan- 
tages they had named, and would go with them to the 
valley, but that he had promised the other ladies some 
time before to go up on the "hull" with them when he 
died. So I have promised the daughters to go to the 
Valley to be buried there." I told him that I was glad 
it was not his modesty that drove him from the Island, 
'lest we should do his grave Mount Vernon homage. 

A Great Worker. 

He was the greatest worker I ever met ; find him when 
or where you would, he was at work — digging at the 



The Lotus Land. 213 

roots of some great tree to enrich it, or to take it down 
by the roots (he could never stand a stump on his 
grounds.) Or you would find him in his study digging 
at the roots of some great science. I called to see him 
in his home in Pensacola a few years after he moved 
there, was directed to his study where I found him all 
alone digging away at a problem involving a spheroid in 
calculus that he said "came up in my mind to bother me 
and I must solve it." "Work while it is called today." 



214 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXVII. 

A Man of Prayer. 

He was pre-eminently a man of prayer and when that 
hour came it was never side tracked for anything. I 
was in his home on a festive occasion, at a marriage, 
when the family prayer hour came he summoned the lit- 
tle merry party together, where he stood by a lamp on 
the mantel with bible in hand ; all quiet, and standing, he 
said, "God has been good to us through another day, let 
us worship Him." He read a few verses of scripture, 
led in a short prayer, and we were soon gone to our play. 
Going down Choctawhatchie Bay together in a small 
sailing market boat, crowded with passengers, the wind 
high, rolling up waves that seemed at times too much 
for the little craft, we sought a quiet resting place away 
from the crowd in the forecastle of the little ship, where 
we had a long quiet talk about the past and the promises 
of the future, such a talk as we never had together before 
or afterwards. When it was getting night and about the 
hour for his evening worship, we sailed out of the trou- 
bled waters of the Choctawhatchie Bay into the quiet 
waters of the Narrows that he loved so much, he said, 
"The Lord has brought us through the deep waters into 
a quiet haven of rest, we ought to worship Him, we have 
been lounging about here the most of the day. let us 
stand for prayer." And there, standing with heads and 
bodies bent in the shallow forecastle, we made our even- 
ing sacrifices. 

The mail steamer often had as passengers his old 



The Lotus Land. 315 

friends and pupils from up the bay who would never 
pass without calling in his home. It would often be 
about the time of his evening prayer, sun-down — he al- 
ways ate supper soon, said "late suppers always took 
from the housekeepers the sweetest hours of the day, 
when the family ought to be sitting together enjoying 
the evenings." Seats would be provided for his guests 
in the front sitting room and the services would com- 
mence by his repeating a passage of scripture followed 
by those on his left, until all had repeated a verse, then 
he led in a short prayer, and these friends knew to have 
a verse ready if it was about sun down. 

I was in his home in Pensacola just before his death; 
I asked him if he could sit up. He said "No, only as 
my daughters help me and they help me so cheerfully I 
almost feel as though I was helping myself — love makes 
life's burdens light." When the hour of prayer came, 
we gathered around his bed, he said "If the heart is 
right in prayer, it makes but little difference about the 
position of the body, we are going to worship, so each 
can take that attitude in prayer that they like, but I must 
take the attitude of lying down." He repeated a pas- 
sage of scripture and the rest of us followed and then he 
poured out his soul in prayer to his God that he knew 
he was soon to meet. "The prayer of the righteous avail- 
eth much." I have written many little things about this 
great life and left ofif many big things in it — "straws 
show which way the wind blows." 

Storm Life, 

We must see by now that we are dealing with a great 
teacher, a teacher in the school, in the home, in the com- 
munity, on the public highways of life. A teacher in 



216 Tii.sTORY OF Waltox County. 

literature, in society, and in morality, and of the soul, a 
teacher in nature, animate and inanimate, and a teacher 
of public officials; wherever he went, whatever he did, 
he taught by precept and by example. Such a life must 
of necessity have been aggressive. 

He had his share of the jars of life. He passed 
triumphantly under many deep, dark shadows and after 
the clouds rolled away, goodness still issued from his 
life. The old Latin dictum runs: "Poeta nascitur, non 
fit." The same is true of the teacher of the mind and 
soul, "he is born, not made." 

Symbolizing Springs. 

There are springs on either side of his Mary Esther 
home issuing from the mainland on the shores of the 
Narrows, mingling their sweet waters with the bitter salt 
waters of the Gulf — that symbolize his life — notably, 
"Camp Walton's" and "Wheeler's Springs." Out of these, 
issue pure, clear limpid water. It is here that the cat- 
tle and other beasts of the wild woods come in the hot 
noon time to slake their thirst. It is around these that 
the merry warblers gather in the early morn and dusky 
evenings for a dip in these cool flowing springs. It is 
here that the fresh water sailor boy fills his water bar- 
rel with refreshing fluid as it gushes from the white peb- 
bly sands beneath the bending tree limbs, kneeling and 
drinking deep at these fountains of genuine flowing 
waters as the thirsty literary youth drinks deep from the 
Pierian Spring sacred to the Muses. There the angry 
Gulf rolls its turbid tide over these sparkling springs, 
covering them, for a while, with dark bitter waters. 
But soon the tide turns, they are rolled away, and there 
they are as pure and as refreshing as though they had 



The Lotus Land. 2-17 

never been submerged in bitter darkness. So it was 
with this teacher's useful Hfe in Walton. Clouds and 
darkness rolled above and overshadowed it ; but these 
would soon roll away, leaving it as pure and as unsullied 
as though it had never been overshadowed. 

His Politics. 

He was a born, educated abolitionist — was bold and 
outspoken — but never obtrusive — strange anomaly of 
character in this our far Southland. "But he was a man 
for a' that and a' that !" At that day no other Northern 
man could have held and expressed his views on slavery 
as he did and be safe in this section. 

So now, even the casual reader at a glance may realize 
readily and understand fully his great appreciated worth 
as a teacher by this tolerance on the part of trustees and 
patrons in those eager days. So too, they can more fully 
appreciate Walton's Scotch Presbyterian proverbialism 
for advanced education. 



218 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXVIII. 

Contraband Books. 

When Mr. Newton's name was a household word in 
the Scotch homes, — his faithful work at its very zenith — 
when scholars from a distance were clamoring for 
board and places in the Academy, a pestiferous cloud 
began to gather around the old Hill, resting just above 
the Academy. Some flashes of lightning played around 
and mutterings of thunder issued from it. This ideal 
teacher had placed in the school library eight or ten new 
volumes of books that the trustees feared militated 
against their economic institutions. So at once these old 
Scotch trustees examined the books and pronounced them 
not suitable books for the scholars to read — that they 
were slightly tainted with abolitionism and must be seg- 
regated from the other library books. He met and dis- 
cussed the matter with them, said "there was nothing 
taught in those books but what the children and their 
parents ought to know," and in the end he said "if the 
books go, I go to return no more to this hill as a teach- 
er." After the trustees discussed and meditated long 
over the matter, the books went and the teacher went. 

These books were "Chambers' Miscellanies." They 
were very readable books for young people — not deep — a 
little trashy — there was a vein of abolitionism running 
through them but nothing at all after the order of "Un- 
cle Tom's Cabin" — something for that day, nothing for 
this day. I read them all, was edified, amused and don't 



The Lotus Land. 219 

think I was any the worse for having read them, if no 
better. 

This action of trustees and teacher spread a gloom 
over education in Walton for a while that was felt 
throughout all Western Florida and Southern Alabama. 
The teacher of course, had plenty of calls. And the 
Academy had plenty of offers from teachers such as they 
were. Mr. Newton went to California and stayed a 
while, returned and taught at Marianna and then at 
Orange Hill. In the mean time the trustees were being 
annoyed with teachers that were so different to their old 
teacher, until they became thoroughly disgusted. They 
advertised and got one direct from Ireland who proved 
to be the biggest mistake of all, Rev. Robert Bell, a 
Presbyterian preacher, who had sat long at the feet of 
old "Professor Gillum." He had drunk deep at the foun- 
tain of Irish wit. He preached stirring sermons in his 
Irish brogue. He took charge of the school and was 
liked by all the pupils, especially those who did not care 
to learn. When his Latin and Greek classes went to 
him for help to read a hard sentence, he pointed them to 
his translation on his desk with the Latin and Greek in 
their regular constructed order and the translation in 
small letters just beneath each word; it was the same 
way in the mathematics. He used these in hearing reci- 
tations and they were there for the classes to use when 
they wanted to use them. Of course the recitations 
were correct and fluent so far as rendering the English 
was concerned ; but making a dull sluggish class so far 
as improving the mind in working, thinking or reason- 
ing. When it came to analyzing or parsing the sen- 
tences, or scanning the verses, they soon learned to turn 
his mind to some of his anecdotes until the time was up. 



220 History of Walton County. 

There was no discipline, hardly an attempt at any. He 
kept the school in a running down condition for three or 
four terms. It was so very different to the splendid 
discipline of Mr. Newton's school, and different in every 
respect, that the trustees became perfectly disgusted with 
him and moved him out. They began to realize what 
they had lost in a teacher and to fear his like was not to 
be had. My father determined that he would not throw 
away his children's time any longer with such a teacher. 
He sent me to Orange Hill to see Mr. Newton and ar- 
range for board, to go to him over there. J went and 
found him hard at work, teaching, not in the big academy 
building that Rev. Porter Everett was to build for him, 
but in the house he commenced in, and it did seem so 
strange to me to see him teaching in that little house full 
of children ; he did seem to be out of his place. I told 
him what I came for and to my surprise he told me that 
it would hardly pay for me to come then, as he did not 
expect to teach there much longer, and that he thought 
I could have an opportunity to go to him nearer my 
home ; but for me to say nothing until things material- 
ized. I knew that the trustees were disgusted with their 
mistake and felt there and then that he saw the mistake 
of his hasty action. I said to myself, these conditions 
are bringing them together. Then I would ask myself 
how can they come together? The trustees will not re- 
verse their action on the books and he said he would 
never come back to that Hill again as a teacher. Both 
parties I knew were very determined when they got 
their minds set in a way, and then I remembered the old 
proverb, "Where there is a will there is a way." And 
the cloud began to roll away. 

In a little while the two school buildings were moved 



The Lotus Land. 221 

to New Knox Hill where it now stands, two miles to the 
north — ostensibly (it seemed to me) to be more in the 
center of the community. It could not have been in a 
more central place than where it stood, if they had con- 
sidered the Mossy Bend settlement ; but Bruce Creek 
intervened. The two-story frame building was cut down 
to a single story. Mr. Newton did not want again, any 
of his pupils above his head, and they all agreed that 
they did not want any more big schools as they had been 
having and the big log building was placed close by 
and in near reach of the Academy to be used for the 
little people and his assistants ; and a small room was 
built onto the rear of the Academy for a laboratory. 

While this locality with its inviting shades of oak and 
other nutting trees standing thick on the grounds was 
beautiful for situation, it is nothing to compare in pic- 
turesqueness with Old Knox Hill. 

In Jan. A. D. 1859 the school was opened in the new 
place and dedicated anew to the work. This dedication 
had the reflex of the old, as did the dedication of Zerub- 
babel's temple. While the near by ones and the young 
people rejoiced at the coming of the new, the older pupils 
who remembered the glories of the old sorrowed when 
they remembered its stateliness as it stood overlooking 
all on the dear old Hill. 

More Scholars. 

Notwithstanding both trustees and teacher desired a 
small school, it is marvelous to tell that in just a little 
while the school was as full as it was when he left Old 
Knox Hill. The pupils from the towns and country that 
had attended the old would not be turned away from 



222 



History of Walton County. 



the new, knowing that they would have the same good 
teacher. So the school filled up to overflowing without 
a word of advertising. 

The dark cloud that had overspread the Academy 
moved away or rather the Academy moved from under 
it. iThere is a bright sky above now, education has taken 
the lead again in Walton, and there is fair sailing ahead. 



The Lotus Land. 223 



Chaptsir XXIX. 

His Home. 

Before the school commenced, at a short distance 
south of the old building and well back from the public 
road, in the midst of a grove of great spreading trees 
that extended to the road, there went up a modest little 
cottage to be the home of the teacher. When it was 
completed and about ready for occupancy, Henry Wright, 
an old pupil from Pensacola, and myself called in and 
went through the building and grounds. Henry said, 
"Mr. Newton, why didn't you build a large two-story 
dwelling in this pretty grove and paint it snow white, it 
would show off so elegantly from the public road?" Mr. 
Newton answered him thus, "Henry, when you take a 
book with pictures of homes in it, and leisurely and 
thoughtfully turn over the leaves to see the home pic- 
tures, on which page do you linger longest with delight, 
or fancy you see the most happiness, the pages with the 
palatial homes or the pages of the modest cottages in 
the grove?" "In the cottage homes," said Henry. "So 
do I," said Mr. Newton, "I prefer contentment, happi- 
ness in simplicity, rather than great show in splendor 
with discontent ; thus it is that I live in a cottage, and I 
dare say 'filthy lucre' has something to do with it too. 
If that public road out there was a stream of running 
water, such as the Narrows along Santa Rosa Island, I 
would feel settled here for life." That cottage was occu- 
pied and there was happiness and contentment in it for 
a great while. /Many were the conjectures about how 



224 History of Walton County. 

the reconciliation between teacher and trustees was 
brought about. The old Scotch ladies would discuss it 
with their husbands alone and then they would meet and 
talk it over in conference with each other, but could 
never surmise how or who made the first advance. Those 
that knew kept it to themselves, and it has remained a 
mystery with some until this day. But we larger school 
boys had our ideas about the whole matter, just as big 
school boys will have, and we would whisper in the ears 
of our mothers and big sisters that there was something 
bigger than moving the Academy from the old hill that 
brought about the reconciliation between the two par- 
ties. We believed that there was a love story in it — 
we believed that Air. Newton loved all of his scholars 
here more than those he had in his school over the river, 
and that he loved one of his earliest pupils over here 
more than all the rest of us. — that there is a pretty bright 
blue-eyed lassie, with auburn hair, blond complexion, full 
of fun, the j oiliest girl in school, more lively, by far, than 
any of her sisters, and we believed that this lovely 
maiden had more to do with bringing him back than 
anything else, and we believed there was a plighted faith 
of love between them — an undergrown requited love 
that kept burning and drawing all the time he was gone 
to California and across the river — that there was an 
old Elder and Trustee, the nearest neighbor, who was 
an admirer, and we believed a confidant of hers, and we 
further believed that it was through these two that the 
advance was made that brought him back. The old 
Scotch women hushed us to silence at such an unreason- 
able story — that we had no grounds for such ideas — that 
Mr. Newton would not like to hear it said that he thought 
more of one scholar than another — more of the scholars 



The Lotus Land. 235 

here than those he taught at Orange Hill and Marianna. 
We told them that an old lover had told us that when a 
fellow loved a girl in real earnest he loved everything 
around her home or in the settlement, loved the old folks, 
her sisters and brothers, her schoolmates, that to him 
even the chickens cackled nicer, the roosters crowed bet- 
ter, and the pigs squealed sweeter, the birds sang more 
joyfully and the sun shone more brightly around that 
home than any other home in the world. And we told 
them that he did not mind walking away up on the Ridge 
after supper to see if the pupils were studying their les- 
sons up there and that we could see a leaning towards 
her people and home. They said we were on the old, 
old road of partiality in school, and that it was as unjust 
as it was threadbare, that it was a shame for us to be 
talking about a teacher loving, courting and marrying 
one of his pupils ; and that we must stop it and not cause 
the girls to be skittish of their teacher and for us to say 
nothing more about it." And when we stopped talking 
they would ask us more about these things ; and we just 
told them what we believed ; that the old lover told us 
where there was true reciprocal love existing neither 
teasing nor anything else ever got in the way, when they 
got ready to marry. So we stopped talking only when 
we were asked about it, and that was pretty often, but 
kept on thinking and holding our opinions about things. 



2?G History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXX. 

He Marries. 

Just a little before the school opened in the moved 
Academy, the marriage bells were ringing. Then this 
announcement was made: This evening, December, A. 
D, 1858, at the home of the bride, a daughter of Mr. 
Angus and Mrs. Catherine Campbell, Mr. John Newton 
and Miss Margaret Campbell were united in marriage. 
Of course we boys said "We told you so" — boys do catch 
on to a thing or two now and then. They came into 
their cottage home and did not have to go far, far away 
to find it. In the course of time their home was blessed 
with the advent of a little son, Angus. 

This was but a bubble of joy and beauty in that home 
— the sun shone brightly for a while and then came the 
shadow of a cloud and out of the cloud a voice calling 
to little Angus, "Come up higher, to your happy land far, 
far away." Then there was sorrow, heart wringing — a 
little vacant crib-chair. Then resignation. "The Lord 
doeth all things well." The night passeth away, and then 
cometh the morning. A daughter, Esther, comes to 
cheer the home — the express image of the mother — her 
prattling voice and clattering little feet make merry 
music in the home all the day long. And it is all well 
in the home, — it is all well in the school, moving on 
with the days — work, work, "learn and obey" ; these were 
the watch words through sunshine and through shadows. 
So it went on in the new as well as the old, growing 
better and better from day to day, until the cruel war 
came with its grim visage to disturb all. 



The Lotus Land. 227 

He taught through the first years of the war with suc- 
cess and pleasure, but toward the last years, the war be- 
came so cruel and sectional feeling so stirred up in Wal- 
ton and in the South ; and seeing so many of his bright- 
est young pupils to whom he had looked forward with 
delight, hoping to see them representative men of 
the highest type, who would do honor in their homes 
and in high places in Church and State, cruelly cut down 
in the beginning of life, like grass before the mower, by 
an uncalled for war, he felt again that his life work was 
not appreciated, that it was a failure, that it was grow- 
ing too bitter for him here, that he must get from under 
the foreboding cruel hanging cloud. So with short notice 
he got ready, and he, with his wife and little daughter 
passed out of the Confederate lines, by way of Pensa- 
cola Navy Yard, on by a circuitous route, to California 
on the Pacific Slope, where he remained until a little 
while after the war closed. And I may say safely, to a 
very great extent, the cloud followed him, "He changed 
the place but kept the pain." 

In his stop over in Warrington at the Pensacola Navy 
Yard his own and his families lives were endangered by 
a band of robbers. His attention had been called to their 
movements in the early evening by a friend and this 
saved their lives, or at least their money. He lay awake 
all night with his ready pistol in one hand and his knife 
in the other; they made several approaches, but found 
that he was on the alert each time. The welcome day 
came and he had better protection as long as he had to 
stop over there. Another daughter was born to them in 
Illinois before they reached California, Christian, — she 
too bears the lineaments of her mother, — while she has 
the quiet graceful movements of her father, and some- 



228 History of Walton County. 

thing of the color or flash of his large piercing eyes. 
The curse of war had permeated our whole land and he 
found it in California as well as in Florida. His family- 
had a severe attack of the loathsome scourge of small 
pox and his wife is in a poor state of health. So there 
was not much sunshine with him on the Pacific slope in 
those days ; neither was there much over the work he 
left in the Land of Flowers. Some of his old pupils 
taught the Knox Hill school the last years of the war and 
a while after the war, but it was never brought up to the 
full standard of former days. He was gone this time 
to California a little more than two years. He left in 
1863, returned Feb. ISCAk This is the second time he is 
called back from across the continent to teach. 

Marianna thought Knox Hill had had him long enough 
and secured his services for a while but Knox Hill got 
him back again in charge of the Academy and again he is 
doing splendid work in straightening out the crookedness 
that came in with the demoralization of the war. The 
school grew to the proportions that he would let it grow 
to ; but not so large as his ante bellum schools. He had a 
great many things bearing upon him to make him sad 
and dissatisfied. He had been driven twice across the 
coneinent and from the lakes to the gulf hunting rest in 
peace. Now his dear wife is taken from him, Septem- 
ber, 1866, to the home of her first born, and this is a 
wrench to his poor heart. 

He sees the negroes turned loose and wandering "like 
sheep without a shepherd." He feels it is his duty to 
minister to them in things moral and spiritual, — and he 
dares to do his duty as he ever did all other duties. He 
had them to build a brush arbor and he would go every 
Sabbath in his quiet way, and give them wholesome in- 



The Lotus Laxd. 229 

structions that tended to make them better Christians 
and better citizens. Some few passed some severe criti- 
cisms on his work and motives, that were the best and 
the purest, and they knew they were. And there were 
so many changes in these reconstruction, carpet-bag" 
days, that he bitterly condemned — and none for the bet- 
ter — the sadness and gloom would not be driven away. 
So he leaves the old Academy never to return again as 
teacher. The school has been taught, as a general thing, 
ever since, by some of his old pupils or by some of their 
children. So the changes in Walton brought about by 
the war and the projection of the R. R. through her 
territories, and the public school system, has brought 
this once great school down among the ordinary of today. 

Goes to Missouri. 

Mr. Newton seeks relief now, not on the golden shores 
of the Pacific, but among the Bleak Hills of Missouri. 
He writes me from there that he has found the place 
up there for me, to sell out and come there at once, that 
with the rush and energy that I was using in Florida, I 
could get rich in a little while, and could do lots of good 
with money there — that one could make more stufT there 
on one acre than he could on five in Florida sand lands 
— that it was the best country he had ever lived in. He 
wrote me this in the spring of 1868, and in February of 
the next year, 1869, I was passing through Euchee Anna 
when I learned that he had returned and was then in the 
place, at his brother-in-law's, Rev. W. P. Harrison's. I 
went at once to see him, found him sitting alone by a 
good fire. After a hearty handshake, I said to him, 
"You didn't stay until I got there." He laughed heartily 
and said, "No, but every word I wrote you was the truth. 



230 History of Walton County. 

but I didn't know half. Two-thirds of the work done 
there was expended in preparing for the severe winters, 
— every horse, cow, hog, chicken, — every living thing, 
had to be well housed. The man I boarded with had to 
haul his wood for the winter twelve miles over a muddy 
road, and had to pay six dollars per cord for it. This 
morning I got up here and found that there was a cold 
snap on, so I took my ax and ran out into yonder oak 
grove, cut some wood, picked up some lightwood knots, 
and I have had a comfortable fire to sit by all day. I 
tell you the country is nearer on an equality than people 
think it is, — there is more in the people than in the coun- 
try." This is the judgment of a great scholar that trav- 
eled much with his eyes open. When the Irishman was 
asked if he didn't believe one country was as good as 
another, he said. "Sure, and a blamed sight better." Let 
us have a good country wherever we live. 

Some of us boys who were thinking right strong about 
that time of marrying our sweethearts, speaking from 
experience now, — said we thought we could find some- 
thing besides the cold North winds that brought him 
back to the Land of Flowers, we thought there was a 
warm young heart here that beat in unison with his 
warm heart, in a cold body that was the magnet that 
helped draw him back. There was a pretty fair com- 
plected, round faced young lady with large pensive blue 
eyes, dark auburn hair, low of stature, but stout in form, 
left behind ; and we made up our minds that she had 
more to do with his coming back here than the cold rigors 
of the North or the warm sunshine of the Southland. 
We did not dare tell this to our mothers, nor the other 
old Scotch ladies, but we told this in confidence to our 
sweethearts, who said. no. no. this young lady is the verv^ 



The Lotus Land. 331 

opposite in appearances to his first wife, and they would 
not believe us, notwithstanding we assured them that 
he was acting lots like we did in the presence of our 
sweethearts, and we told them that we had learned that 
opposites had nothing to do with marrying when the par- 
ties loved and got ready to marry. 

So things moved along with all of us in a regular way 
for a little while and a change came. My sweetheart 
and I got ready to marry, and there was nothing in the 
way. He was a Presbyterian Preacher, living in the 
same town together with myself, and on account of the 
relation that had existed between him and me as teacher 
and pupil, I felt as though I would like to have him unite 
us in marriage, and I asked him if he would not officiate. 
He said that he would be more than glad to do so, but 
as Rev. Mr. Harrison was the pastor of the Valley 
Church, where my membership was, he thought it would 
be more appropriate to have Mr. Harrison as the lead- 
ing minister and he would go and assist, which was as 
agreeable to me as it was to him. We were a little slow- 
er than he thought we would be, and we were about to 
run into his time. /So, when we got ready, it was a very, 
very, cold day in the last days of December of 1870, and 
a long drive through the country which necessitated go- 
ing on the way a day ahead. There was a double pres- 
sure upon him ; the same that was upon me, but I was 
better prepared to bear it than he. We both would have 
to go in the cold, but he would have to talk and work in 
the back ground, I was working and talking in the open. 
He came to me and said, "It is so very cold that I fear I 
will have to decline the pleasure of the occasion, if you 
will excuse me," and I did reluctantly, but did it willing- 
ly under the circumstances. The cold is more severe 



"232 History of Walton County. 

when you have something on your mind and heart that 
you want to keep under cover. In short, when my wife 
and I got back off of a short trip this is what happened 
before we returned, "Rev. W. P. Harrison, on this day 

, united in marriage Rev. John Newton and 

Miss Mary Campbell (daughter of Angus and Catherine 
Campbell) both of Freeport, Fla." This lady was a 
younger sister of his first wife, and our wives were first 
cousins. They moved to his long desired home on the 
Narrows, to Mary Esther, — in the spring of A. D. 1871. 
There was born to them a son. The sequel is short and 
sad, — the mother — the wife — died. Oh, how ready are 
the feet of sorrow to follow in the steps of joy! He is 
left alone with his two little daughters, in his home by 
the sea, away from old friends and kindred. Sorrow is 
no respecter of persons. 

The little babe is left with its aunt, Mrs. Christian 
Harrison, and she has been a faithful mother to him and 
he was named John Daniel. While he bears the image 
of his mother, he is very much like his father in man- 
ners and business, with eyes very much like his. espe- 
cially in expression. iHe is now a grown up man with 
a wife and little son, and is a loving helpful son to his 
foster mother in her declining years of affliction. The 
Lord can turn our sadness into joy. Let us abide our 
time. 

"1 know not where His islands lift 

Their fronded palms in air ; 

I only know I can not drift 

Beyond His love and care." 

Mr. Newton built a neat little school house at Mary 



Th^ Lotus Land. 233 

Esther and opened up a school for the natives about 
him. Many of the patrons there could not read, and he 
opened up a night school and taught them. Some of his 
old patrons from Freeport, Marianna, Pensacola and 
Geneva, found out where he was and sent their children 
down there to him. He held Sabbath School and preached 
for them every Sabbath. He did missionary work up 
and down the water courses for five and six miles out 
from the bay. 

In writing to me on one occasion this is what he says, 
"I went out into the back country on a missionary tour 
yesterday, I met father, mother and eight children, shook 
hands with them all ; in a little while the oldest daughter, 
14 years old, went out, washed her face and hands, and 
when she returned, I jumped up to shake hands with 
her. when her mother spoke up and said, "you have al- 
ready told her howdy.'' Now, you want to know if I 
accomplished anything. Eight children got their hands 
and faces washed. 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness.' 
When I started home the father, through kindness, 
would have me take with me a half bushel of nice sweet 
potatoes; I was afraid to refuse, lest I should ofifend 
him, and spoil my missionary work. It was about all I 
could lift, so you know I had a time getting home with 
them. It was five miles to my home, had to put them 
down every few steps to rest. The daughters say he 
gave them to me for a joke, — I think better of him. He 
had promised me he would come and bring the children 
to Sabbath School and church. I called his attention to 
this promise ; he said 'I have been so busy that I have 
not had time to go, but I will come day after tomorrow,' 
which would be Thursday. I told him what day that 
was and that we had Sabbath School and preaching only 



234 History of Walton County. 

on Sundays. Then he said, 'I will wait and come some 
Sunday.' 

Mr. Newton had many tempting offers to leave Mary 
Esther, He was called to Milton to teach and had $1,500 
per year guaranteed to him there by Mr. Chaffin. He 
said to them, "If you have that much money to give for 
a teacher you can get a better one than I am." So he 
went back home (and as he would often say) to crawl 
up into his little shell. He showed me a letter from 
Mr. Moody asking him to send his daughters to him at 
North Field and they would educate them and pay all 
necessary expenses. He said that was good and kind 
in him, but that if he accepted the kind oft'er he would 
lose the pleasure of educating them himself, besides hav- 
ing to be without their company so long. He spent 
many quiet happy days with his little family in his gulf 
coast home. But by and by there came along a gallant, 
cultured, Scotch boy of a stately, manly form. He was 
from amongst those who "go down to the sea in ships" 
— Capt. Augustus E. Axelson, who made love to his old- 
est daughter. Miss Esther, and was accepted, and they 
married. This spoiled the nest on the Narrows, but 
made a better one in some ways, in the city of Pensacola, 
This was in A. D. 1889. So he spent his last years, 
that had many happy days in them in the home of his 
son-in-law, well cared for by him, and in the loving care 
of his daughters. 

He often said to me, while teaching, after mentioning 
one after another distinguished school teachers, who had 
fared well in the close of life, "I wonder if there is any- 
thing good in store for me in the end." I mentioned 
this saying of his to him in his last days in Pensacola, 
and he said, "Things in these last days of mine are good 



The Lotus Land. 235 

enough, better, may be, than I deserve. I have a good 
home and I am well cared for, what more could I wish." 
His Mary Esther friends hated to lose him as a neigh- 
bor. They said he made a most excellent, generous 
neighbor. 

Generosity. 

He had a barrel of good country syrup that was leak- 
ing and asked me to look out for a better barrel for him. 
Before I had gotten it, he said to me, "don't bother, we 
have learned how to stop the leak, — we draw a gallon 
and give it to our neighbors when it commences leaking, 
and it stops." It pays to remember your neighbors. 

His Health. 

He was seldom ever sick, didn't eat enough to make 
himself sick. He understood hygiene and taught it by 
precept and example. He had a Httle book on psychol- 
ogy and physiology — "Know Thyself" — it was the best 
of its size I ever saw. His advanced classes had to know 
this book. 

He was the first man person to milk a cow in Walton, 
and taught old Scotchmen that it was their duty to milk, 
and not their wives. He taught those who were care- 
less about the Sabbath not to write, receive, or send off 
any mail matter on the Sabbath. Some of his best work 
was done outside of the regular school hours, and with- 
out a thought of its being appreciated. 

Three young ladies in our public school here met to 
consult about needed helps for their pupils, that would 
require forty minutes of their time after school hours; 
one, the most efficient to lead in that work said, "no, the 
patrons will not appreciate the giving of our time to 



236 History of Walton County. 

them." What would this great teacher think of such an 
idea? Some of the best work done in the world is un- 
appreciated work. 

The reader may wish to know something of his assist- 
ants. Daniel G. McLeod and Angus I Gillis, graduates 
from the Academy, were the only assistant teachers, out- 
side of his scholars, in the school, that he ever had in all 
the years he taught here, and they only served but a 
few terms; they were taught by him and knew how he 
wanted them to teach, and followed strictly his direc- 
tions. He did all the disciplining and was responsible 
alone for progress and behavior. Would hear their 
classes two or three times a week while they would 
hear his. Now, let me emphasize here, lest I forget, that 
co-operative sympathy between these old Scotch patrons 
and teacher had a great deal to do with the continuity 
and success of this great school. Patrons, be ever in 
sympathy with your teacher. 

When the school had grown so large, the trustees of- 
fered to procure a regular assistant outside. He told 
them such teachers as they could get would be more in 
the way than good, and would have no assistants ex- 
cept from those he had trained. His tuition was $2.00 
per month for all grades, and would never agree to have 
it changed ; and if any failed to pay him, no one knew 
it, save himself. What splendid teaching! What poor 
pay ! Well might the trustees and patrons be satisfied 
with results. What would our public school and colle- 
giate professors of this day think of such pay, and such 
sacrifices for the moral and intellectual up-lift of this 
generation of youths. He fully exemplified in his per- 
sonal life the greatest thought of all life — that we are 



The Lotus Land. 237 

in this world to serve — to serve others — to serve our 
God. 

Teaches Half Century. 

For nearly half a century he was a most acceptable 
teacher, in the broadest field of education, to Southern 
Alabama and Western Florida — teaching through the 
most trying years. None but a genius, could have com- 
menced, continued and ended triumphantly as he did. 
Coming into a new country, amongst strangers, unher- 
alded, without friends, without money, with no personal 
magnetism in a commanding physique, but rather of a 
very fragile personnel, and with no deep toned sounds 
of command, but with a clear distinct clarion voice, as 
soft as a maiden's. Yet he was respected from the start 
— he asked and it was given — he commanded and it was 
done — he moved things all around him — there was no 
waiting with him for something to turn up, he turned 
things up himself. 

The great power house from which he drew his inex- 
haustible resources lay deep down in a heart, resting in 
his fragile body, brim full of love for his fellow man, 
and his God, furnishing him too, with the courage of his 
conviction. We all soon learned that the channel that 
this power moved through lay in the glint of those mar- 
velous eyes. 

In Pensacola, November 25, A. D. 1893, in the home 
of his son-in-law, Capt. Augustus E. Axelson — these 
wonderful eyes of Rev. John Newton, the great teacher 
for years, at Old Knox Hill — were closed in death. His 
sleeping body was borne to the L. & N. R. R. and car- 
tied to DeFuniak Springs, where it was met, by ever so 
many, of his old pupils and friends, placed in a hearse 



238 History of Walton County. 

and carried, not to the beautiful mound by the sea, near 
his Mary Esther cottage home, to be laid in the white 
sands thrown up by the ocean, and bleached white by 
the sun — fit emblem of his life — not to sleep there under 
the dirge of the murmuring waters — but it was taken to 
the more appropriate, if not the more beautiful spot, — 
Euchee Valley's city of the dead — where so many of his 
pupils and dear ones rest — under the very shadow of Old 
Knox Hill, where the grandest work of his life was done, 
over whose hills the morning sun, rising beyond the river 
in its glory, throws a flood of rich light about his grave, 
and the evening setting sun in its beauty, sends back 
gentle rays of soft purpling light, through the open 
branches of the great trees, to say, good night — rest in 
peace. 

Here, in his narrow house, beneath the clods of the 
Valley — under the shades of the trees, and near by the 
many, many dear ones of his life, sleeps in silence and 
in solitude, beneath the shining stars, one of Walton's 
greatest men. We often wonder if Pennsylvania ever 
dreamed that she had such a son at work in the Land 
of Flowers. He was one of the "lonely mountain peaks" 
shining above the clouds in our moral world. 



The Lotus Land. 339 



Chapter XXXI. 

Churches. 

With the Scotchmen, the school goes along together, 
hand in hand with the church to the end. No sooner 
had they gotten their families settled down in rude homes 
and their family altars established here, than they set 
about to build a house where they might meet together 
and worship the Lord in the congregations. They 
brought a minister along with them to blaze out the 
path to heaven for their generations. They met at a 
central point in the valley with ax, saw, mall and wedge, 
and felled great pine trees, cleaved them in twain, hewed 
them down smooth, brought them up out of the woods 
on their shoulders, and soon had erected a large commo- 
dious house, well proportioned where they might wor- 
ship together. 

Some time after the church was built, on May 26, 
1828, they met and organized the Presbyterian Church 
of Euchee Valley, Rev. McQueen of North Carolina mod- 
erated the meeting and Rev. Witherspoon was among 
the very first to serve these early pioneers. 

The first Elders were, Daniel S. McLean, John L. 
McKinnon, Donald McLean, Peter K. McDonald, and 
Archibald McCallum. No Deacons are named. Miss 
Sallie McLean of Euchee Anna, who was considered the 
very best authority on Euchee Valley Church history, 
gave me more information along this line than any other. 
She says for nearly a decade after the organization, on 
account of the raids on our Northern frontier by the 



240 History of Walton County. 

Creek Indians, there was very little done and few changes 
in church affairs. She tells us that in this interim there 
came on horse-back from Tennessee through the zone 
made open by a treaty with the Creeks in A. D. 1829, 

Rev. Bryson, who spent several weeks preaching 

for them. His son, Rev. Bryson came a few 

years ago and preached for their sons and daughters. 

The writer was moved to this work from an ardent 
desire to give a true and full history of this old church. 
The reader will have to imagine how very blank he felt 
when he found a gap for years and years in the early 
life of this church in which he could find no written 
records whatever, and that too, in the times when its 
history ought to have been the most interesting — and 
when he found out too, by searching, that so much that 
he had gathered through tradition was very conflicting. 
He sought faithfully and prayerfully from every prob- 
able source for reliable information, and got that which 
only muddled what he had already gathered. 

The Lost Records Found. 

After all efforts of gaining any reliable incontrovertible 
information had been abandoned, a niece of mine. Miss 
Aramenta McKinnon, handed me a nice leather bound lit- 
tle volume saying, "When Uncle Daniel L. McKinnon 
was over from his home in Marianna last week, he gave 
me this book to look over, and told me to hand it to you, 
that it might be interesting to you and others of the old 
church." I opened it anxiously, found that it was our 
old church sessional records, kept regularly by my father 
from May 27, A. D. 1842, to February 27, A. D. 1852, 
just the very thing we had been searching after for 



The Lotus Land. 241 

months, and we were glad. Our brother hadn't the re- 
motest idea hat we were searching for it, and we never 
had a thought that such a record was in his possession 
all these years ; it had the hall-marks of having gone all 
through the Civil War, — it had good blank pages in it 
that were so scarce in those days, and on some of these, 
in his handwriting, were places and dates of battles and 
hospitals where he had been. We acknowledge the hand 
of Providence in bringing these precious records to us 
just at this time. 

We copy in full below the very first sessional record, 
leaving oflf the names of the three members who were 
arraigned before the session, so that the church members 
of today may see that the early church did not wink at 
intemperance and Sabbath breaking as some would have 
us believe at this day, but were as ready to correct it 
as now. 

"May 27, 1842. Church Session. 

Constituted by Rev. A. M. Mooney from Ala. 

Donald McLean, Daniel S. McLean, Archibald Mc- 
Callum, John L. McKinnon and Peter K. McDonald, 
Elders. 

Opened with prayer by Rev. A. M. Mooney, mod- 
erator. 

"A," "B" and "C," charged with intemperance and 
in violation of the Sabbath ; were heard, and with humil- 
ity and signs of true repentance made the necessary ac- 
knowledgement, were admonished from the chair and 
restored to their former fellowship. It was ordered that 
this decision be read from the puppit on Sabbath morn- 
ing. 

John L. McKinnon, Clerk." 



242 History of Walton County. 

It is claimed that the Sabbath breaking mentioned in 
the above sessional records was going with and after 
their mail on the Sabbath. 

These records run on regularly, giving accounts of ses- 
sional meetings with several ministers from different lo- 
calities moderating the session and the receiving of new 
members and the baptizing of their infants, with nothing 
out of the ordinary until Nov. 26, A. D. 1848, when the 
new church building was dedicated. Pretty nearly from 
the day the Valley Church was organized, there was a 
continual growth, spiritually and numerically. For many 
years it was the only church organization in all this 
country. In A. D. 1847, the numerical growth and at- 
tendance increased so that there was a lively call for a 
larger building to worship in. It was then that the 
second church building went up, a large frame building, 
50 feet by 100 feet, with large and commodious inside 
galleries on either side. This building would seat com- 
fortably from four to five hundred people. The gallery 
on the east side was reserved exclusively for the colored 
people. It was not an unusual thing to see this build- 
ing filled on preaching days from Sabbath to Sabbath. 

Mr. John Gillis, who learned his trade at Pensacola 
Navy Yard was the architect that constructed this big 
new church building. 

It had to be recovered in the late '60's. A little later 
it was reported that the shingles on the building were 
yet unpaid for. A congregational meeting was called to 
take steps to raise the money to pay the debt. Several 
speeches were made on the ways and means of raising 
the money to liquidate the debt, the most of the speeches 
were burdened with "hard times — scarcity of money" and 
the like, as is usual. There was a tall visiting Presby- 



The Lotus Land. 243 

terian preacher present who rose and straightened him- 
self up and said, "Do as the Apostle James tells you to 
do, 'Go to the rich and howl for the money." Mr, New- 
ton followed this speaker, saying, "We have no rich to 
howl to, we need none, the debt has already stood too 
long, let every man run his hand down in his pocket, or 
arrange now, for his part of the money and wipe out the 
debt today. It is my opinion that our prayers here will 
rise no higher than these shingles until they are paid 
for." The debt was paid then. And this building stood 
until it was torn down recently and replaced by the 
neater, smaller building that now stands on the same 
grounds. 



244 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXXII. 

The Ringing out of the Old and the Ringing in of the 

New. 

This is Judge John L. Campbell's remembrance of the 
big new frame building taking the place of the age-old 
hewn log building of long ago, and corroborated by the 
found records. This is what he says, "The new church 
was finished up and ready for occupancy some time be- 
fore it was dedicated and used. Many were the ques- 
tions and conjectures with both the young and the old, 
as to why the old church was not abandoned and the 
new dedicated and used in its stead. Rev. Samuel E. 
Robinson, a tall black eyed, curly dark haired handsome 
young man, was the pastor in charge and on hand ; but 
he would give no satisfactory answers to these questions : 
neither would the old elders answer satisfactorily.. Final- 
ly in the course of time the elders gave out this informa- 
tion. We, the session, with Rev. Samuel E. Robinson 
moderator, in view of the fact that a very important 
church marriage is being arranged for solemnization here 
soon, deem it wise, appropriate and befitting, to ring out 
the grand old log church by solemnly uniting a fair bride 
to her bridegroom in the holy bonds of wedlock, on the 
Lord's Holy Day, and after the joyous union, take leave 
of the old building and proceed on the following Sabbath 
to dedicate, with appropriate ceremonies, the new church 
building for worship. While this announcement relieved 
the anxieties in one direction, it increased it in another, — 
who are the contracting parties, and when are they go- 



The Lotus Land. 345 

ing to be ready? These were the all-absorbing questions 
for the colonists to discuss for a while, and many were 
the conjectures, for both the groom and bride were very 
bashful and reticent, keeping their own secrets. In a 
little while everything is understood through this card, 
namely, 'On Sabbath morning at 11 o'clock A. M. Nov. 
the 19th A. D. 1848, the Rev. Samuel E. Robinson and 
Miss Jane Williams, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. McCray 
Williams, both of Euchee Ahna, Fla., will be united in 
marriage in the old Euchee Valley Church, Elder John 
L. McKinnon, J. P. officiating. All are invited.' 

This was a surprise to all, and every lady was there 
at the appointed hour to witness the occasion. The 
house would not begin to accommodate the comers, — 
hardly the lady attendance. — the large trees that stood 
around the old church gave shelter to those that stood 
outside, while their falling leaves on that November Sab- 
bath reminded all of the passing aw^ay of the old for the 
coming of the new. Let it be remembered that Col. 
John L. McKinnon was the first Justice of the Peace and 
the only one for years in Walton, that all law matters 
were conducted through his courts and in the absence of 
a minister — which was often — he always solemnized the 
rite of matrimony between those seeking union, and in 
the solemn and impressive way in which he performed 
this duty with scriptural charges and prayer would im- 
press one with the idea of ministerial work. As the only 
minister present was one of the contracting parties, the 
duty of uniting them fell upon the Justice of the Peace — 
Elder McKinnon. At the appointed hour, young man- 
hood with blanched cheeks, ennobled in taking on new 
responsibilities and by his side young blushing woman- 
hood, the beauty of the Valley, — stood before the Col. 



24:6 History of Walton County. 

in the space reserved for them, in front of the old altar. 
In this presence the Col. was at his best, he commenced by 
asking, "if there is any one present who knew any good 
reasons why these parties should not be united in mar- 
riage let them speak or hereafter hold their peace." Then 
he had a short prayer — spoke of the marriage institution 
in the Garden of Eden, its responsibilities and blessings, 
its recognition and approval by our Savior ; and having 
had them make public acknowledgements of their plighted 
love and obedience before that crowd of witnesses, he 
pronounced them man and wife, and said, in ringing 
tones, 'What God hath joined together let no man put 
asunder.' Then he closed with a short pathetic prayer, 
asking God's blessing on their united lives and on the 
occasion. Now. let me say here, that it was the univer- 
sal custom in those days, on occasions like this, for the 
minister or officer officiating, at the close of the marriage 
ceremony, or prayer, to say to the bridegroom 'Salute 
(kiss) your bride.' The Colonel did not leave this 
out. but the young, timid, blushing groom held back, 
when the Col. said, 'if it is shamefacedness that holds 
you back, I will kiss her for you.' and kissed her ruby 
lips, while her cheeks flushed with beauty that made the 
bashful young husband proud of the smiling beauty, 
brought out by the substituted kiss of an old man. So 
all was done now in order. The joyous taking in of the 
new ministerial bride and the taking leave of the old 
primeval log church, made the day full of joy and glad- 
ness to all. 



The Lotus Land. 247 



Chapter XXXIIL 

Dedication Day. 

"Sabbath, Nov. 26, A. D. 1848, at 11 o'clock A. M., 
as announced, these Presbyterians met to dedicate the 
new church building that stood just a few paces east of 
the old, — the young bridegroom of the Sunday before. 
Rev. Samuel E. Robinson preaches the dedicatory ser- 
mon, he too, was at his best on that occasion, — it was a 
solemn reverential occasion, that filled our souls with 
joy — a day so full of good things that it has been long 
remembered by many of us, together with the many days 
that have passed since — days making green, sweet recol- 
lection pages. The many fine gospel, orthodox sermons 
that have ever fallen from the lips of our 'old time relig- 
ion' preachers hang around our memory still ; and we are 
glad to know that we have this same old time preaching 
there today, when we are able to go to hear it, and there 
are ever and anon occasions that bring us together there. 
We all want to go by that way when we go up higher." 

These found records show that Lochlin L. McKinnon 
had been added to the eldership and Alexander McLeod, 
John Gillis, Daniel G. McLean and Daniel G. Gunn were 
the deacons, when the church was dedicated. The min- 
utes on that occasion, with Samuel E. Robinson pastor 
and moderator, show a full revised list of members with 
a roster of one hundred and fifty-three members. 

These records show that Rev. A. M. Mooney was more 
regularly with these Scotch Presbyterians in their ses- 
sions and worship than any of the other visiting minis- 



248 History of Walton County. 

ters, and there were long intervals in his coming. Rev. 
John Warnock of Alabama was with them December 17, 
A. D. 1842. Rev. M. A. Patterson in February 27, A. D. 
1853, preaching and baptizing their children. When 
these ministers would come into the settlement, word 
was sent to every home for eight and ten miles round 
and all would come and stay during the meeting. They 
came for the word and remembered every text and fond 
word of the minister about the wisdom and goodness of 
God, long after they were gone. There was no whining 
about long sermons and prayers ; they were seeking that 
better land where praises never end. When they had 
no one to preach for them the old elders would meet 
every first and third Sabbath mornings, read the scrip- 
tures and hold prayer meetings ; some of these old elders 
would have to pray in the Gaelic language, their native 
tongue. 

When I was quite a boy, I went to spend a night with 
a niece and nephew, younger, but very near my age, with 
their grandfather. They told me their grandfather, 
Daniel S. McLean, always held family worship by read- 
ing from his Scotch bible and prayed in Gaelic. I ex- 
pressed some trouble lest I might not know when to get 
up, when the little nephew said. "I know when he says 
amen, and I'll tell you." So when the amen was pro- 
nounced in Gaelic, the little fellow bounced up in triumph, 
slapped me, and crying out, "He's done — that's amen!" 
The niece was a bright little lassie, learned every one 
of her grandfather's graces and prayers, and has never 
forgotten one of them ; only a month ago at our table she 
was called on for a blessing, when she repeated the morn- 
ing blessing of her grandfather in Gaelic that she had 
learned more than sixty years ago. 



The Lotus Land. 24S 

These old elders were very prolix in their services. 
They earnestly looked forward to that day of eternal 
praise and ever prepared for it. Judge Richard Camp- 
bell told this joke on Col. McKinnon that he loved to 
tell in an appreciative crowd. "In passing from Pen- 
sacola on to Tallahassee, I would often stop my nights 
in Walton with the Col. One cold winter night, after 
supper was over, as usual, the Col., with his good wife 
and his great famil}^ of sons and daughters, and the 
house-servants, gathered around the ingleside in a large 
circle. Before us on the hearth stood the ever present 
large, highly polished, brass andirons, or fire-dogs, loaded 
with a big back oak log and one smaller in front, and 
one on top of the two, with bits of split lightwood stuck 
about in them to make them go ; making a good cracking 
fire to sit by on a cold winter's night. The Col. took 
down his big old family bible, held it before his eyes 
while he rested his trembling arms upon the old armed 
chair, and read a long chapter from Matthew, comment- 
ing a little as he read along. Then he took down his 
big Presbyterian hymn book and read a long hymn clear 
through, while the rest of us were being furnished with 
smaller ones from a platter in the hands of one of the 
house servants. We sang the whole hymn through, the 
Col. leading the music. Then we all bowed reverently 
on our knees around the family altar, the Col. leading in 
the evening prayer, confessing all sins and asking for- 
giveness, acknowledging all blessings and giving thanks, 
he prayed for a blessing on our country and those that 
rule over us, for the preservation of our "glorious union ;" 
he plead for blessings concretely and abstractly on every 
family and everybody. When he was about half through 
with the prayer, the fire had died down and the room 



250 History of Walton County. 

became a little cold, the Col. paused a moment in his 
prayer and said, 'why in the world don't some of you 
put on a stick of lightwood?' The boys seemed to be 
resting so well and I being near the wood box, got up 
quietly and laid a stick gently on top of the back log, 
where it did no good in the way of replenishing the 
fire ; but the Col. went on to the finish of the prayer, re- 
gardless of the heat or the cold in the room. When he 
reached the end with that solemn Amen, that welled up 
from the heart, the lads, whom I thought were asleep, 
bounced up readily and seemed to be very much re- 
freshed. The Col. got after them for the way they 
chunked the fire, when I had to tell him it was I who 
had put the chunk on. Then he said, 'Richard, there is 
a proverb that says, *it takes either a philosopher or a 
fool to make a fire, it appears that you are neither.' 

The morning worship was not altogether so long. The 
Col. was a late setter and not an early riser, yet he would 
be out quite early among his cattle. 

The memory of these devout family services linger 
with me until this day, and my heart is made gladsome 
because of them. I am ever reminded of these, by that 
solemn, reverential family prayer in Burn's Cotter's Sat- 
urday Night — prayer that every family commencing life 
should read and study and put into earnest practice. 

Their first regular stationed preacher was the young 
minister, Samuel E. Robinson, mentioned above, who 
boarded at the old McCaskill place with "White Findley 
McCaskill ; taught school at first, and then preached for 
a long while. The next was Rev. Peter Donan from 
Pensacola, for a little while. Then came Rev. W. H. 
Crane from Ouincy. Florida for one year. Next came an 
old Scotchman. Samuel Campbell, from Virginia, for one 



The Lotus Land. 251 

year. Rev. Robert Bell, the teacher from Ireland for a 
little while. Then came Rev. J. W. Butler, who was 
with us when the war came, and stayed one year. Then 
Rev. Bouldin, an old man from Tennessee, who came 
during the war and preached a few times and was laid 
at rest in the Valley Church yard. The next was Bel- 
lum and Post Bellum Minister Rev. Wm. P. Harrison, 
a Scotch Irishman from Georgia. He came in the dark 
days of the war, — married one of Walton's daughters, 
Miss Christian Campbell, daughter of Angus and Cath- 
erine Campbell, Rev. John Newton officiating. They 
lived at first at Knox Hill, then moved to Euchee Anna 
and built for themselves a comfortable little cottage in a 
grove of large trees near a bold, gushing, cool spring. 

They had their rich vegetable and flower gardens, 
fruits, in the juicy peach and the luscious scuppernongs 
in great abundance — had their chickens, their pig, their 
cow, and their horse, all of their own thrifty earnings 
and good financial management, in spite of carking cares. 
They both saw better times in their ante bellum days 
for their parents were well to do in the goods and 
chattels that the war swept from our Southland. But I 
doubt very much if they were happier in these posses- 
sions than they were in their little cottage home by the 
public road or through street. In the first years there, 
their cottage was warmed up by a large heater. They 
never liked this arrangement, and as soon as they could, 
they had a chimney and an open fire place. There was 
no brick to be had in the country, so he had a stick and 
clay chimney built. I called the evening he built his 
first fire in it ; found him sitting in front of a cracking 
fire, sending out its heat from a cheerful blaze — a perfect 
picture of contentment. I was seated and we discussed 



252 History of Walton County. 

the change, the cheer of the live flames on the hearth 
over the smothered flames in the heater. For a moment 
he fell into one of his thoughtful moods and on a sud- 
den he raised up his head, turned toward me with ex- 
pression in his face that I shall never forget, and said, 
"never did I dream that I could be as happy and con- 
tented as I am right now, in a log house with a stick 
and dirt chimney to it." And he was happy and con- 
tented — those large beaming blue eyes rolling beneath 
that prominent brow, sparkling in that broad florid face, 
said so, more clearly than his lips expressed it. Then I 
said within myself, truly possessions have but little to 
do with our happiness in this world. 

He served the church faithfully for many years until 
he became superannuated, and soon he led the way to 
that brighter world, that he had been so long, alluring 
his people to. His body was placed in that valley of 
silence that it might rest there for a while with others 
of Walton's fallen worth. The home in time was 
vacated, decay was doing its work, the Vandal's hand 
gave it a blow in passing. But it is occupied now by 
another and being renovated. I never passed this home 
in its decadence, and my business called me to pass often 
that way — but what I was reminded of Goldsmith's 
Village Preacher; and the appropriateness of applying 
his lines to our preacher and his wasting home. And I 
would find myself repeating, as I passed, the lines that I 
learned and had never forgotten when a little school boy 
at old Knox Hill. 

"Near 3'onder copse, where once the garden smiled. 
And still where many a garden flower grows wild ; 
There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose. 
The village preacher's modest mansion rose." 



The Lotus Land. 253 

She Longs for the Valley Worship. 

I remember years ago visiting the home of one of his 
old parishioners, a sweet old Scotch soul, who had spent 
her earliest best days in Euchee Valley ; and then moved 
to a distant town. And the burden of her conversation 
was about the people of the valley, the church, its min- 
ister, its congregation. She said to me, "I long to hear 
some of those good old sermons from the mellow voice 
of Mr. Harrison, to hear again those dear old songs, — 
All Hail the Power — Jesus Lover — Nearer My God, and 
the like ; sung by that great congregation, carrying all 
the parts with a sweetness and distinctness that we could 
hear every word of poetry as we came up from the old 
spring. The people down here have never heard dear 
Old Hundred sung aright. I believe if they just could 
hear it sung by the Valley congregation, they would 
drop their squalling solos and high church music and go 
to worshiping God aright in song." 

True, there was a peculiar sweetness in the old valley 
music of those days that would make melody out of dis- 
cord, — it was from the soul. It might not have had 
much of Chopin's nocturnes in it, but it smacked of the 
sweet rythm of harmony with God. It may have had 
nothing of "Wagner's Thunder," but it made the welkin 
ring about the "dear old spring" on Sabbath mornings 
with its unmuffled notes in harmony with nature's God. 

The next was Rev. W. D. Humphries, who served the 
Valley Church for one year. 

Next comes the present incumbent. Rev. R. Q. Baker, 
from Liberty county, Georgia, a graduate of Oglethorpe 
College, of Puritanical extraction, a wounded Confeder- 
ate soldier, who served as a private all through the Civil 



254 History of Walton County, 

War. He entered upon the practice of law after the 
war, but his conscience drove him into the ministry. He 
has a giant analytical mind, is a deep thinker, a profound 
reasoner, a ready debater, and shows his worth best as 
an impromptu speaker. He never writes a sermon or an 
address, yet his vocabulary is large and of the smoothest, 
choicest words that are expressive and impressive. He 
has serv^ed the Valley Church for thirty years and no one 
is tired of him. He wears better than any preacher I 
know. It is a notable fact that those who sit under his 
reasoning sermons for any length of time, are never 
afterwards satisfied with sensational preaching. He has 
a big place in the hearts of these Old Valley Scotch. 
He baptized and married off more of their children, and 
buried more of their dead, than all those who came be- 
fore him. He has no stereotyped funeral sermons or 
prayers; his heart has been wrung and twisted so that 
it runs readily in sympathy with every condition of life, 
and it is an outpouring of the soul in real sympathy. He 
served Walton acceptably for twelve years as Superin- 
tendent of her Public Schools. In physique he is tall, 
straight, agile. His complexion is a dark sallow, yet he 
is as tough as whitleather. He has small, sharp, snap- 
ping blue eyes, in a round head covered with a heavy 
coat of dark, but now iron gray hair. He is exceedingly 
conscientious and set in his ideas of right; so much so, 
that some of his best friends say that his conscience in 
keeping him straight leans him just a little too> far back 
at times. This we do know of a truth, that the prompt- 
ings of his conscience, as he interpreted it, and as his 
old pastor Dr. Axson, under whose ministry he had sat 
for many fruitful years interpreted it, after communing 
together in prayer with their God to guide them to in- 



The Lotus Land. 255 

terpret it, led him to make sacrifices at the call of their 
Lord, as they heard Him on that eventful occasion, that 
sends many sharp arrows we think, and gloom at times, 
to his perturbed, poor human heart and mind, but in the 
end we believe glory to his soul. Few are called upon 
in our days to make so great sacrifices, and none could 
have responded more heroically than he has. Other 
ministers of less courage and less theological research, 
may have taken a different view of his situation and 
may have fallen short of obedience to their God. Let 
nothing come between us and our call to duty from our 
God. 



256 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XXXV. 

The City of Our Dead. 

The stranger in passing the Euchee Valley Cemetery, 
seeing that large enclosure filled with marked graves, 
reasonably comes to the conclusion that he is traveling 
through a very sickly region, while in fact he is passing 
through one of the most healthful sections. But when 
he learns that Walton's people have been burying their 
dead here for near a century, and for a long time this 
was the only burying ground in the country for both 
whites and negroes, then he will understand. There are 
so many people whom I have heard express a desire to 
be buried in this shady Valley of Silence, notwithstand- 
ing the oft misapplied statement, "As the tree falls, so 
let it lie." I may say that all of Walton's citizens that 
go beyond her bounds into the marts of the great cities 
for more active business, when they run their earthly 
course and lay them down in the arms of death's sleep, 
are brought back to 'finish their rest here beneath the 
shades of the old Valley by the side of their fathers and 
mothers, brothers, sisters and friends of long ago. There 
was started another grave yard on the south side of the 
Valley, in Mossy Bend years ago, but there are com- 
paratively few buried there in comparison with this old 
place. I spent days recently among the Valley tombs 
looking up data for these sketches, and found them very 
helpful to me. I was very anxious to learn who was 
the first white person to die in Walton and failed to find 
it in this Valley yard, but found it in the Mossy Bend 



The Lotus Land. 257 

burying garden, buried long before it was claimed for a 
burying place. That first white person who died in 
Walton was Mrs. Peggie Folks, wife of John Folks, who 
came with Neill McLendon and Daniel D. Campbell at 
the first, on the trail way to Walton, to Sam Story's 
camp at the "Old Place." This Scotch lady died at her 
home, near the head of a branch that makes up from the 
south to the Mossy Bend, Free Port and Euchee Anna 
roads, not far from where these roads intersect each 
other, and not far from the old Mclver or Anderson 
shop. She died in December, A. D., 1824. For years 
and years this first death created a great sensation among 
the aborigines and negroes when they came. It was 
the first person the Indians had ever seen buried in a 
coffin and placed down in the ground. This interment 
was the product of many legends and superstitions 
among the Indians to which the negroes fell heir when 
they came and got acquainted with them. Some few of 
the negroes that remained here after the war hold to 
these traditions today. This branch head near her 
home bears the name of the "Bugaboo Head" until this 
day. These superstitious people claimed that they never 
pass this "Bugaboo Head" at night, without seeing 
Peggy Folks walking about it, a thanky-bag on her arm, 
a yellow bandanna handkerchief about her head and neck, 
and always carrying a lighted candle in her hand. The 
Indians claimed that it was her spirit hunting for her 
body that was buried under the ground, and that she 
spoke words of warning and comfort to those who were 
not afraid to stop and talk with her. But these supersti- 
tious people that hand down these ghost stories through 
the generations, have never been known to pass there at 
night. 



258 History of Walton County. 

These people passed down another legend that af- 
forded much talk in those early days, and was believed 
in by many of later years. They claimed that they often 
saw, on the Euchee Anna and Free Port roads, on the 
hills about the Sand Hill Branches, a "No Headed Dog" 
that would follow them for a piece. Many claimed to 
have seen this wonderful dog, and told much about how 
he would act. So much was said about him that many 
old and young people would not dare to go along that 
part of the road after night. Some intelligent people 
would give ear to this story. My father spurned such 
talk and wx)uld drive out such foolish, unreasonable 
stories from our young minds ; said "he had passed along 
that road at all hours of the night and had never seen 
such a creature, and only silly minded people could." 
But he had a neighbor of the same opinion as he, 
Peter K, McDonald, his cousin, and one night as he came 
up from Freeport with his ox team lightly loaded with a 
supply of dry goods and groceries for himself and neigh- 
bors, in passing the haunted place he heard something 
after him, gave a glancing look backwards and saw 
through the dim starlight the monster coming after him, 
running and leaping and reaching out his long arm 
or paw to catch him. He put whip to his ox 
team, making all the speed possible, the headless dog 
keeping right close up to him ; when he reached the long 
slant at the White Branch he made the team go down 
that with added speed, while he could tell by his back- 
ward glances that he was gaining some little on the dog, 
yet the dog was still stretching out his long fore leg and 
could almost take hold of his wagon. When he reached 
the current of the branch, oxen like, he could force them 
no farther until they drank. When the wagon stopped 



The Lotus Land. 259 

the dog stopped and he took a bold look backward 
and found that the no-headed dog that had been fol- 
lowing him was a bolt of calico that he had on the hinder 
part of his wagon which had fallen out, leaving the end 
securely fastened under some grocery boxes ; it unfolded 
and twisted and jumped after him over the high places 
in the road making the dog, and the twisted unfolded 
calico fastened to the lower part of the wagon made his 
long arm or tongue as he thought, stretching out to 
catch on to his wagon. This true story put a quietus to 
the no-headed dog scare. Some time after this there 
were two men killed along this way, Alexander Mc- 
Kinzie and James Oglesby. The branch heads near 
their murder take their names, and those who claimed 
that they did see the mysterious dog, claim now that he 
was there as an apparition to foretell the death of these 
men. They can have it so if they like. But the lesson 
here to the young is that all ghost-like appearances will 
prove to be nothing if you will walk right straight up to 
them. The tombstones in the Valley graveyard show 
that Peter McCaskill, brother to Kenneth McCaskill, 
born in Scotland in 1793 and died November, 1827, was 
the first person buried there. And that his sister Nancy 
Jones and her four children, who sleep close by him fol- 
lowed next, and soon after him. These were buried 
there about the time the logs were being cut and brought 
up for the first church, before any wagon roads were 
cut out from their homes to the place. These first dead 
were brought there on poles carried on men's shoulders. 
There was something very mysterious and unaccounted 
for in the death of these Jones children ; they were in 
health, and one suddenly died. When they returned 
from the burying of the first, another was dead ; on re- 



260 History of Walton County. 

turning from burying the second, a third was dead ; and 
these were followed in no great while by a fourth and 
their mother. These were the wife and children of Rev. 
Charley Jones, who went by the affectionate name of 
"Old Brother Charley Jones." He was a Methodist 
preacher who married a Scotch Presbyterian wife. He 
lived east of old Knox Hill. He was a very devout self- 
sacrificing man of God, preached often in the old Valley 
log church in the absence of a Presbyterian minister, 
and was heard gladly by the old Scotch Presbyterians. 
There is today a dim trail that leads from the Valley 
church across Panther and Bruces creek on to the Alaqua 
settlements, that was blazed out by this old servant 
of the Lord and traveled by him in carrying the precious 
Word to the Alaqua people. It is known today as 
"Old Brother Charley Jones' " trail. He was the only 
Methodist in his day in all this country. He never tried 
to organize a Methodist church here, he preached to 
Presbyterians and was satisfied to feed any hungry soul 
on the bread of eternal life. He survived his family and 
sleeps now near them in that valley of rest. He honored 
all their graves with a stone and superscription ; no one 
has honored his grave thus. But even the children of 
today know where "Old Brother Charley Jones," the 
faithful pedestrian, itinerant preacher rests from his 
labors. 



The Lotus Land. 261 



Chapter XXXVL 



Mary Gillis. 

Nearby these early graves and to the east of them, I 
came to a stone well moulded with age. On it, in block 
letters, I found this superscription : 

"In memory of 

Mary, Daughter of Angus and Catharine Gillis. 

Born July 39th, 18:35. 

Died August 25th, A. D. 1847." 

As I read this superscription, the very name of the Scotch 
lassie, the name of her father and mother, awakened in 
me the deepest emotions, for these were the identical 
names of my w ife and her parents. Then I remembered 
that my w^ife was named for a sister who was taken 
away in the spring time of life ; then fond recollections 
carried me backward more than a half century to a day 
in the blossoming spring-time, when I walked with a 
young friend, a schoolmate of mine at old Knox Hill 
Academy, a scholarly youth just merging into young 
manhood. We were walking together on the Ridge 
Road north of the Academy, beneath the deep shades of 
these great nutting trees along that highway, where they 
entwine their branches and mingle their foliage across 
the road. We came to a turn in the road, when this 
young man caught me gently by the arm stopping me, 
then pointed me to a large dogwood tree hard by the 



263 History of Walton County. 

road with long arching limbs curving downward and 
near to the ground, forming a beautiful natural shady 
canopy to rest under. It was in full blossom then, with 
just enough of green leaves out to shade and soften the 
white glare of its waxen flowers. When he saw that 
I appreciated the beauty of the situation along this ridge, 
he said : "Near three years ago when I was returning 
from Prof. Henry's school one evening, my eyes fell upon 
one of the most bewitching scenes in perfect nature be- 
neath those arching limbs of the then green shaded 
beauty I ever witnessed or ever expect to see again. It 
was on an August day just as the loving sun was going 
down and throwing its purpling "trembling horns" in 
all their swinging beauty around these limbs that you 
now see in their white waxen flowers tinted with their 
starting green foliage. Beneath this beautiful natural 
canopy of green stood a young maiden with black hair 
and beamiing dark eyes, with a white bottle of water in 
her arms nearly filled with cool water taken from the 
gushing spring in the jungle just across the road. She 
stood as an angel of mercy. At her feet and against the 
trunk of that tree leaned her sister, resting on her right 
elbow, a Scotch lassie of thirteen summers. She was 
gowned in modest Scotch plaids of the Campbell stripes, 
her long, rich, auburn hair hung in two large, soft braids 
in front across her left shoulder. Her large, blue pen- 
sive eyes sparkled in a face that the smiles of love always 
adorned. This was to me a picture of health in beauty un- 
adorned by art, a picture that no hand of art can ever re- 
produce. "Lassies." said I, "you have chosen quite a pret- 
ty place for rest this beautiful evening." Then that mouth 
made to speak kind words opened its ruddy lips, moving 
over pearly teeth, causing, as I thought, that Scotch like 



t 



The Lotus Land. 263 

vermilion hue to play around over her lovely cheeks. 
She answered in the sweetest, calmest tones: "I was 
so warm and thirsty, I had to stop here and rest while 
sister went to the spring and brought me a cool drink 
of water, and it was so cool !" said the thankful soul. I 
learned at once through these trembling lips that uttered 
these soft words that it was something like the hectic 
flush intruding on that fair face. I asked if there was 
anything that I could do to help them on. Sweet words 
of thanks came from both lips, saying "Thank you, we 
will try to make it on in a little while." Their home 
was far away, but they were stopping with their grand- 
mother near my home, going to the same school with 
me ; they were my own dear, fond school mates. I 
knew what to do. I hastened on to tell what I saw 
and thought to their grandparents, and in a little while 
their grandfather was with them with a vehicle to take 
them to his home, and the sick one was soon enfolded 
in the tender arms of a dear, affectionate grandmother. 
She never reached her dear parental home, but her loved 
ones were soon with her, bringing all the help that could 
be found. But typhoid fever had taken hold on her, and 
as April's sun had melted the white waxen flowers that 
so beautifully symbolized her pure life, so, now, the 
fever's heat in these hot August days melts away her 
sweet mortal life. Her young spirit took wings just 
as the bright, soft sun began to glint amid the tender 
blue of the morning. The next day her body was borne 
to the new Valley cemetery, followed by her many friends 
and weeping loved ones, all submissively wondering at 
the providence of God in taking from the home, the 
school, the community, that tender flower "snatched 
away in beauty's bloom." But all found comfort in the 



2fi4 History of Walton County. 

sentiment of this story. A King had a landscape garden; 
he employed two florists, assigning them portions in his 
garden that they might keep it and raise for him the 
choicest shrubs and flowers until his coming, and then 
he went away. They were faithful rivals, each doing 
his best ; they planted and raised by the best culture the 
choicest species of shrubs and flowers. Soon their labors 
were crowned with rich blooming beauties in a variety 
of colors and fragrance. It was conceded by all that 
number "one" raised by far the choicest flowers in fra- 
grance and rare beauty in all the garden ; this was even 
conceded by gardener number "two" ; and he was over- 
joyed at his success, thinking how the King, on his 
return, would be pleased with its fragrance and extrava- 
gant beauty. But this gardener was away for a little 
while one morning, and on returning found that some 
one had entered the garden and had plucked and taken 
away his dearest flower. So he was sorrowful and his 
anxious heart bled, when he thought of the cruel one 
who would blast all of his fond hopes. While he was 
sorrowing so, one approached him and said, "In the 
beauty of the early morning, when the little birds sang 
so sweetly and chirped and nestled amid your shrubs 
and flowers, and while you were away, we saw the King 
walking through his garden, enjoying its beauties; and 
when he came to your choicest flower he stopped and 
drank in its fragrance and beauty; then he smiled and 
plucked it from the stem and carried it away with him." 
Then the poor gardener smiled and was glad and ex- 
claimed, "It is well, for it was for him I raised it!" So, 
too, these sorrowing ones said "It is the Lord, let Him 
take His own to the prepared mansion." They dug the 
grave in the east end of the cemetery, among the great 



The Lotus Land. 265 

spreading trees in the deep shades of the Valley. Just 
as the dying day was going, just as the setting sun was 
sinking beneath the purpling west, that casket that held 
all that was left of that dear one was gently lowered 
to its resting place, the sod of the Valley softly laid over 
it, and the rich mould gathered shapely above it while 
tears flowed freely down furrowed faces and made moist 
the blanched cheeks of the young that were there. Then 
with sad hearts we all went to our several homes, leaving 
that dear sleeping body at rest in the beautiful new home 
claimed for the dead, beneath the stars of God's great 
universe, awaiting there the victory of the resurrection. 
This was the first funeral I had ever attended. The 
words spoken and the scenes of that yet lingering day 
went straight to my young heart, impressing me as I 
had never been before or since; and they are as vivid to 
my memory now as they were on that eventful, sad 
occasion. This young Scotch laddie, a lover of poetry 
and beauty in nature, was Wm. McPherson, a graduate 
in the first class of old Knox Hill Academy, Walton's 
first son from the Academy to Oglethorpe College, Geor- 
gia, a graduate of the Lebanon law school, of Lebanon, 
Tenn. It was he that wrote "Propos de Table** (Table 
Talk) that was much read and so very popular in Cali- 
fornia, where it was written and the characters placed. 
This book was not only entertaining and amusing, but 
it had a vein of rich moral thought running through it. 
It was written in "prose poetry," the language of his 
every day conversation, the language of his heart and 
mind, with gushes of exuberant joy and ardent love 
tingling through it, from beginning to end, disturbed 
only by bitter disappointments and weird neglect, which 
always come as incidents of surcharged passions. The 



266 History of Walton County. 

critics dealt with this book pro and con, as sane and 
pointed, as extravagant and falling short of the mark. 
As Captain of the Walton Guards he became Major of 
the Battalion when the two companies were formed at 
Camp Walton. After the war he located at Marianna, 

Fla., in the law business and married a Miss Balt- 

zell of that town. After the death of his young wife he 
cast his lot in the far West and sleeps today solitary and 
alone on the Pacific slopes beneath the golden sands of 
California. 

Lessons Learned. 

The writer learned that a day spent in this Sacred 
City in the Valley, though saddening to the heart, is 
refreshing to the mind and soul. It brings many dear 
recollections to mind, deeds of kindness done, deeds 
neglected that might have been done. You can't go 
away after spending such a day there without being 
a better man or woman. I saw there that day a stone 
darkened with age overhung by bridal wreaths. I asked 
my brother who stood close by to pull the wreaths aside 
that I might read the superscription, and this is what it 
said: "James Tinlin. Born in Scotland A. D. 1800. 
Died at Col. John L. McKinnon's in 1852. Buried away 
from his Scotia, but in the midst of his Scotch friends." 
Then we remembered the highly educated young 
Scotchman our father found in Pensacola, suflPering from 
some pulmonary disease, and brought him home with 
him, and gave him one of our best bed rooms. How he 
would recuperate and go back in a few months to his 
work in the navy yard and return again and again and 
finally came to stay, to stop here for a rest on his way 
to his eternal home. We remembered how our mother 



The Lotus Land. 267 

and sisters would be up with him in the cold winter 
nights trying with medicines to aid his expectorations, 
and how very grateful he was. 

Then we remembered the grave of George McArthur 
here, where and how our father found this sick young 
man and brought him to his home. We were on a weeks 
cow hunt on the bay. Passing near Portland our father 
spoke to a man coming out from the bayou, who told 
us of a young man alone in one of the bunks of the 
steamer "New Boston" then lying for the summer at 
Portland, who was suffering with high fever. We turned 
in and found him sure enough alone, no one to hand him 
so much as a cup of cold water. It was three o'clock in 
the afternoon, September's sun was pouring its hottest 
rays against his bunk. He was full of Choctawhatchie 
river malaria, his fever was high, the Captain and owner 
of the vessel was away seeking medical help for him, 
and his nurse had left him ; we gave him water and such 
comforts as we were able to find there, and he was so 
grateful ! Our father asked him if he would not like for 
him to take him to his home on the farm where he 
would be well cared for? How gladly he accepted the 
invitation ! The cow hunt was abandoned. We hast- 
ened on home, a distance of i8 miles; after reaching 
home we had a negro man to make ready a wagx^n, placed 
a feather bed in it, and the writer was sent with the 
negro man in the night time, while it was cool and less 
fatiguing than to come in the hot day. We were back 
at home with him before the sun was up the next day 
and he seemed to be none the worse from the trip. The 
very best medical aid and nursing that could be had was 
given him, but the fever would not yield, it did its work 
in spite of medicines. He lingered for several weeks. 



268 History of Walton County. 

was patient and thankful to the end, and passed away in 
peace and his body rests beneath these shades. 

Here too was the grave of Hubbard, a Mississippi 
cavalry soldier, left behind by his command in a low, 
suffering condition near Euchee Anna. Our father had 
him brought to his home to be cared for. It was in the 
dead of the cold winter, they had to keep him on a bed 
before the open fire place in the parlor to keep him warm 
he was so nervous ; he claimed to be cold through and 
through. He was quite 'different from the other two 
slick men, he was ungrateful, unappreciative, hard to wait 
on. The colored servants who waited on him gave him 
the name of "growling Hubbard," and when our mother, 
knowing his nervous prostration, would express sym- 
pathy and fears about his recovery, these negro nurses 
would say, "Don't fear. Missus, he is too contrary to die." 
But the poor abandoned Confederate soldier had more to 
annoy him than his nurses thought, and after tw^o months 
nervous, prostrating suffering, the poor boy died, like 
many another poor Confederate soldier, away from his 
command, away from his home and loved ones, leaving 
the unfinished battles to be fought by others. Now these 
are just a few incidents of sacrifices in just one family 
of the early pioneers that crowd upon our memories 
in this sacred place, and given as lessons for their genera- 
tions. The like can be told of many other families. Let 
the lessons from these be impressed in the form of this 
question. Are we, their descendants, as ready to help 
the destitute in our land today as our fathers and moth- 
ers were in their day? When opportunity brings you 
face to face with distress, be ever ready to lend the help- 
ing hand. And don't forget to launch out and seek 
opportunities for doing good to your fellows. 



The Lotus Land. 269 

FOURTH EPOCH. 

Chapter XXXVIL 

The Civil War. 

We have dwelt at some length on the third epoch in 
Walton history. It is pleasant to linger about these 
delightful days, these ante-bellum hours of peace and 
plenty and contentment. But these bright Elysian days 
issuing in joy and gladness of heart, ushered in or were 
rather harbingers of a pandemonium of days, filled with 
the destruction of life and property and happiness. Great 
political agitations are being felt all over our lovely land. 
National parties are dividing up on political and sectional 
lines, and new parties are being formed. The dark 
ominous cloud that had been gathering so long around 
the political horizon of our country, seems to have set- 
tled heavily over our capital and now it begins to spread 
over our fair land. Sectional feelings run high. These 
contending parties resort to the ballot box, that had ever 
been the peaceful quietings in like National commotions. 
But when it was opened, instead of its restoring the 
blessings of peace of the ballot box of other days, it 
proved to be an open Pandora's Box, full of ills. The 
fourth epoch — the war days are at hand. States begin to 
secede, the cloud over the capital begins to quiver, flashes 
of lightning begin to leap from it, deep tones of thunder 
come out of its blackness. Florida says let's secede and 
go with the other States and calls a convention of her peo- 
ple. Walton says no, Lincoln will administer the Govern- 
ment in accordance with the Constitution. He is not one 
of those who would put a strictly literal construction on 



370 History of Walton County. 

the declaration, "All men are born free and equal," and 
then object to giving a literal meaning to the laws and 
Constitution of our fathers, or to having this declaration 
interpreted by their doings in the premises. He says 
clearly, in one of his public addresses: "He (the negro) 
is not my equal in many respects, certainly not in color, 
perhaps not in morals or intellectual endowment." You 
see, he does not claim that the negro is our equal, neither 
does he believe in social equality. So the mere election 
of Lincoln by the people in accordance with the law and 
the Constitution, gives no good reason for secession, 
even if it was sectional and not by a plurality of votes. 
We claim that the Constitution is all right and that we 
have ever stood by it and the Union, and if any one must 
go out of the Union let those who have been trampling 
upon it and the Constitution be driven out. These were 
the correct and logical views. Walton was a Whig 
county and was not afraid of Lincoln's administration 
with his views on slavery. And she easily elected anti- 
secession delegates to the Convention, by an almost unan- 
imous vote. John Morrison and A. L. McCaskill were 
elected and instructed to vote against the secession of 
the State, and they voted as directed to the last, and the 
Convention gave to Walton the appellation of "Lincoln 
County." But Florida seceded from the Union, all of 
the delegates signing the articles of secession except 
Walton's delegates mentioned above and a few others 
from West Florida. Let it be remembered here that the 
question of the State having the right to secede or that 
the States had grievances that ought to be redressed 
under the Constitution were not mooted in this election. 
It was the inexpediency of the act that she opposed. It 
is not always best to say or do what we know we have 




I 



JOHN MORRISON. 




COL. A. L. McCASKILL. 



The Lotus Land. 271 

a right to say and do. Walton believed with the State 
of Florida and the other States that a sovereign State 
that was a State before the Union was formed and which 
had voluntarily entered the Union, might voluntarily 
and peaceably withdraw from it, and that we had griev- 
ances that ought to be redressed inside of the Union. 
The difference of opinion was only in the manner of 
redress. The State said, "by going out of the Union." 
Walton said, "they can and ought to be redressed in the 
Union." A Confederate government is being formed at 
Montgomery, Ala., with a new Constitution and a new 
flag, as much like the old as two black-eyed peas. In 
fact these Constitutions were virtually the same, the flag 
having bars instead of stripes, proving their devotion to 
and respect for the old. There was a hurrying to and 
fro over the land, the shadows of the spreading clouds 
were falling thick about us, war is not only imminent but 
it has actually begun. The booms of Sumter's cannons 
are heard through their vibrations from ocean to ocean, 
from the great lakes to the Mexican Sea. Florida calls 
for troops. Walton is among the very first to respond, 
in a splendid company of young men, the flower of her 
land, under Captain Wm. McPherson, First Lieut. C. L. 
McKinnon, Second Lieut. A. B. McLeod and Third Lieut. 
H. W. Reddick, to make up the First Florida Regiment. 
This company was held in reserve as a guard on this 
Choctawhatchie coast. Henry Hatcher and Iverson 
Goodwin went on and joined another company in the 
First Florida Regiment and represented Walton in the 
battle of Santa Rosa Island and the battle of Shiloh. 
About the first of July, 1861, this first company under 
the name of "Walton Guards" was placed on duty on the 
bay on the Narrows and they called the station "Camp 



27S5 History of Walton County. 

Walton." They were stationed there to watch East Pass 
entrance and to report the maneuvers of the blockading 
vessels anchored out in the Gulf near East Pass and to 
protect the inland waterway leading from Pensacola up 
the Choctawhatchie Sound, Narrows and up the bay that 
leads to Fre^ Port in Walton. They remained there 
for one and a half years. They were armed at first with 
all kinds of fire arms that they could pick up around their 
homes, the long Buckhannon rifle, the old flint and steel 
Indian war musket, single and double-barrel shot gun. 
the short rifle and the boy-bird gun; the most of these 
were flint and steel and all muzzle loaders. These sol- 
diers were armed later "to the very teeth" with great 
Zouave bowie-knives. They seemed to depen don these 
more than on their snapping guns, that had to be kept 
primed with fresh power in the pan to make a shot. It is 
enough to say that this company did excellent service. 
They kept a gunboat anchored all the time in the Gulf op- 
posite East Pass or opposite their camp. We had a supply 
schooner that plyed between Camp Walton, Free Port 
and Pensacola to bring our supplies and mail. As our 
schooner was passing East Pass one day this blockading 
war vessel sent out her long boats to capture her. We 
drove them back with heavy loss, we having the advan- 
tage, lost none. Our supply boat was fired on severel 
times from behind the island mounds while passing up 
and down from Pensacola and Free Port besides the 
the occasion already mentioned, when they shelled us 
out in the early morning while standing at roll call with 
batteries brought up from Fort Pickens parked behind 
the mounds on the island opposite our camps, assisted 
by the man-of-war ship anchored opposite our station. 
So very powerful were her guns that they cut oflf trunks 



The Lotus Land. 273 

of trees twelve inches in diameter one mile beyond our 
camp. After this our government sent us a large cannon 
to answer back to them, which we mounted on a mound 
in the midst of our camp for action, from which we had 
a fair sweep over island and gulf. I have often wondered 
how easily we could have been captured had the enemy 
known how poorly we were armed at first, and have been 
impressed with the thought of how much there is in 
brass, in dare, especially in times of war. To say that 
we had a good time at Camp Walton, in spite of the 
strict drill, heavy guard duty and dangers that sur- 
rounded us, would but be giving a faint idea of the good 
time. We were not satisfied with one boat to bring 
down our relatives and friends to see us, our supplies 
and mail, we chartered a second schooner. It was a 
delightful place to spend the summer, had an abundance 
of choice fish. For the first year these lady relatives and 
friends furnished us with all our clothing and most of 
our food supplies from home. At the end of the first 
year's service, there was a reinlistment of the old Walton 
Guards and the forming of two new companies. 



274 History of Walton County, 



Chapter XXXVIII. 

Re-enlistment — Two Companies. 

Captain C. L. McKinnon raised a company under the 
reinlistment with First Lieut. Neill I. McKinnon, Second 
Lieut. Dave Evins, Third Lieut. Robt. McCallum. Cap- 
tain A. B. McLeod raised one with First Lieut. H. W. 
Reddick, Second Lieut. H. T. Wright, Third Lieut. James 
Cotton. These companies were armed with the very 
best guns extant. After these companies were organ- 
ized we began to get the most of our supplies from our 
headquarters at the Pensacola navy yard. Major Mc- 
Pherson made out a list of camp equipage, provisions, 
ammunition and clothing, all in his own neat handwrit- 
ing. We had never drawn any clothing before, and on 
this list he made application for certain articles and sizes 
of clothing for new recruits, adding "We are in particular 
need of these articles, as some of the men are now in 
almost a state of nudity." He signed it officially, put it 
in an official envelope, addressed it neatly and officially 
to the commander cxf the post, Pensacola Navy Yard, 
General Samuel Jones. The writer took it down and 
handed it to the General, who opened and read it and 
when he had finished reading he threw it down in hot 
Ihaste into the waste basket, saying, "I will send him 
nothing. An officer that acknowledges his men, at this 
day, to be in a state of mutiny is not fit to command a 
company of monkeys!" I said to him very calmly but 
with some feeling of pride, "I never heard of any talk of 
mutiny in the camps up there." He replied, "Fll send a 



The Lotus Land. 275 

court martial committee up there and have this whole 
matter investigated !" Then I said to him, "General, 
will you please let me look at the letter just a moment?" 
He took the letter from the basket and handed it to me, 
saying, "It is his closing words." I read them over care- 
fully and said, "General, aren't you mistaken in taking 
the word 'nudity' for the word 'mutiny?'" I handed 
him the letter. He read it and said, "Yes it is 'nudity' 
and it is written plainly, too." Yet he did not hdye the 
true soldierly manliness to apologize. The order was 
promptly filled and we had many a hearty laugh over this 
little word, and were deeply impressed with the value 
in a word. I am reminded of this incident now by read- 
ing recently a mistake in a word given by Judge Camp- 
bell in his "Historical Sketches of Colonial Florida," and 
give it here for the same reasons he gives it. "To illus- 
trate the vice or virtue there may be in a word or name," 
he says, "in A. D. 1822 when the legislative council of 
thirteen appointed by the President met in Pensaloca 
under W. P. Duval as Governor of Florida and from 
Kentucky, and on account of yellow fever breaking out; 
in Pensacola compelled an adjournment to the Fifteen 
Mile House, among the Acts passed there was one, the 
title of 'An Act for the Benefit of Indigent Debtors,' was 
misprinted in the laws of the session so as to read : 'An 
Act for the relief of Insolent Debtors.' The error des- 
troyed its utility, and no man, it is said, as long as it 
remained on the statute book ever invoked the relief of 
its provisions." 

We will linger no longer around the pleasant haunts 
of old Camp Walton, on which a book could be writ- 
ten on the pleasant camp life there that would carry 
interest to many readers for years, Capt. Reddick has 



276 History of Walton County. 

written at large on the "Walton Guards and Camp 
Walton," which will be of interest. Now we will lead 
to the more active front, "Young America," the rest- 
less young soldier boy, chafing for more active service 
and fearing lest the war might close before he could show 
his valor on some big bloody battlefield like Manassas, 
Bull's Run or Shiloh, is longing for the front. Poor 
restless, dissatisfied, ambitious, longing, soldier boy ! 
How very soon his longings, his unbridled ambitions 
were satisfied on many a bloody battlefield. How often he 
wished for the pleasant shades of old Camp Walton, for 
his hammock swinging in the grove, for the toothsome 
fish pulled fresh from the Gulf or Narrows as his fastid- 
ious taste indicated, to hear the murmurings of deep 
waters, to be fanned by the soft gentle breezes fresh from 
the Gulf stream. 



The Lotus Land. 277 



Chapter XXXIX. 



Leaves Camp Walton. 

On the i6th day of August, A. D. 1862, we struck 
camps and bid adieu to the dear Old Camp with its 
many home-like amenities, for Pensacola Navy Yard. 
From that day on Walton's earliest soldiers and all who 
came after them began to see hard army service on every 
line in the eastern, middle and western armies. The 
lines were being drawn tight around them, the watch- 
word was "March and Fight." We can't speak so defi- 
nitely of those who enlisted in battalions and regi- 
ments other than ours, the First Florida Regiment, as 
they were in dififerent parts of the army the most of 
the time. We must leave this for other writers who 
are more conversant with their history. After the des- 
troying and evacuation of the Navy Yard at Pensacola, 
we were stationed for a while at Camp Pringle, on the 
Escambia river above Pensacola, where our companies 
suffered much by the introduction of measles into our 
camp. From there we were sent to Montgomery and 
stationed for a while. From thence to "Camp Moccasin" 
on the Tennessee river at Chattanooga, and from there 
we went on that forced march through Kentucky under 
General Bragg. On that march we made ready near 
Mumfordsville and not far from the Mammoth Cave for 
a night battle with General Rosencrans, but moved on 
and fought the battle of Perryville in the open field 
standing on a ridge, while the enemy stood behind a 
stone fence. General Wm. Miller, then Colonel, com- 



278 History of Walton County. 

manded our Regiment, General John C. Brown com- 
manded our Brigade and was in our immediate rear until 
he and his horse were shot down. Walton lost several 
brave young men in that battle. The writer was shot in 
the left forearm, ball passing between two bones, shatter- 
ing them. While he lay suffering on that bloody field 
he saw General Brown's horse standing in the agonies of 
a fatal bomb explosion, on his hind legs, and then fall 
dead to the ground, his master on him badly wounded. 
It was then that this pertinent question was asked, 'Ts 
this the glory of the bloody battlefield we read of in 
books?" The Confederates won the battle, the Federals 
were driven from the stone fence and our line advanced. 
I was helped off the battlefield by my youngest bother, 
Daniel L. McKinnon and friend John McLean. They 
got me under the hill in a ravine, where we were shel- 
tered some little from the flying missiles. They had 
plenty of water to cool my bleeding wound and quench 
my thirst. I always felt that this water was one of the 
means in their hands in saving my life. The water was 
the last thing I remembered until sometime in the night 
of that day I found myself on a cot in front of the ampu- 
tating room in a hospital in Harrodsburg. Ky. I was 
awakened by the groans of the poor sufferers under the 
amputating knife. Early the next morning I remem- 
ber my brother coming to me and saying, ''They are ex- 
pecting a battle today and want all the soldiers to be in 
line. The doctor here says he will see that you are cared 
for. so I think I had better go to the command and as 
soon as the battle is over I will get permission and come 
in and see you." But I never saw him again in Ken- 
tucky. Bragg went out through Cumberland Gap and 
he was taken out with him, and I was left to fall into tlie 



The Lotus Land. 379 

hands of the enemy. In the evening of the next day 
I saw the doctor of my ward going around with a bevy 
of the ladies of the town, talking to them about the con- 
dition of the wounded. When they were by the side 
of my cot the doctor said to them : "This young man 
is shot through the arm ; his wound is not dangerous, 
but he is very weak from the loss of blood, and faints 
when lifted up." As they passed on to the next, one of 
the ladies stopped and drew near my cot and said to me, 
"Would you not like to go out to our home here in town 
and let me take care of you?" I said "Sure I would!" 
and thanked her right heartily and began to feel better 
right then. Something like home seemed to be in pros- 
pect. She called the doctor back and said to him, "I 
want you to send this young man to our home and I will 
see that he gets the best of attention." He told her that 
it would not be safe to move me for several days, but as 
soon as I was able to be moved he would send me to her 
home. In a few days I saw the kind lady coming with 
four strong men bearing a litter. I was placed on it 
and borne by these men to her home and up a winding 
stairway into a quiet, handsomely furnished room open- 
ing out on the main street. She furnished me with a 
splendid negro boy to wait on me. And what a change 
for a wornout, wounded soldier, taken from the turmoil 
of battle and hospital, from the stench of human blood, 
to this pleasant retreat in the home of Miss Mary Hern- 
don to breath pure air and fare like a king! 

These good ladies came to the hospital day after day 
taking to their homes such wounded soldiers as could be 
moved until their homes were filled, and they never for- 
got to care for those who had to remain. My lady friend 
had ever so many young lady friends and relatives, 



280 History ok Walton County. 

among them the Misses Bettie and Florence Hood, of 
Danville, Kentucky, nieces of General John B. Hood, two 
beautiful lovely lassies who called on me with the others 
while I was a shut-in. When I got up and out I had a 
nice time returning calls. Miss Herndon through the 
Trapsnells. who were her relatives, procured a permit, 
giving me the liberties of the town and surrounding coun- 
try. I was taken to the Perryville battlefield. Shaker- 
town and other places worth seeing in that blue grass 
region. And I, wherever I went, received royal or rather 
homelike treatment, and this with other kindnesses re- 
ceived, brings old Kentucky close to my heart, next to 
my own dear Land of Flowers. And in passing up and 
down the steeps of life I look back with a delight to my 
stay in Harrodsburg as one of the green pages in my 
life's history. When Dr. C. A. Landrum, of my com- 
pany, who was wounded in the left leg at Perryville 
and left with me at Harrodsburg, but not in the same 
home, were well enough to be moved, they sent us, with 
other prisoners to Lexington, Ky., and we were crowded 
into a filthy county jail where negroes had been kept 
with small pox. Quite a change from our Harrodsburg 
confinement ! In a little while some of the good ladies 
came to our relief, told us that they would see that we 
would have better quarters in a little while. And in a 
short time we were taken from this filthy place to a two- 
story new building. 

The Gillis Brothers. 

While in these new quarters several ladies called ask- 
ing if there was any one from Florida in the prison? We 
told them that we were from Florida. They asked if we 



The Lotus Land. 281 

knew Murdock and William Gillis, young Confederate 
soldiers of the Sixth Florida Regiment. We told them 
we did. Then the fact of their death was broken to 
us. These ladies said, it can truly be said of them, 
'They were pleasant and lovely in their lives and in their 
death they were not divided.' We were taken from 
there to Louisville, K}'., and kept there for several days. 
While there it was reported that we would be taken 
from there to Vicksburg for exchange. This was good 
news for us, so in a little while we were taken down 
the Ohio River to its conjunction with the Mississippi 
and kept there in the suburbs of Cairo, in a low, wet 
place with but little shelter, cold drizzly rain or hominy 
snow falling all the time, no place to make a fire to warm 
by except out in the open air on the wet ground, no 
blankets or bedding of any kind to sleep on. In this 
condition we spent the time there, until one day a ''Free 
Mason" came down and found quite a number of Masons 
among us, and he went away and in a little while he 
returned with a dray load of good blankets for us all. 
This was quite a treat and we blessed him. Notwith- 
standing these surroundings the soldiers were jolly all 
the while, and would sit close together around the 
smokey fire, in the drip, and without the doors with the 
new blankets pulled close about them, and sing the Con- 
federate National songs such as "Dixie," "My Maryland," 
and the like. 



282 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XL. 

On to Vicksburg. 

Finally the hoped for news eventuated in placing us 
on board of the "City of Madison." a large steamer with 
hundreds of other prisoners. Her great prow turned 
down the Mississippi, splitting the water in the direction 
of Vicksburg, making no stops save where she rounded 
up to some bluff or landing, where the gang-planks were 
run ashore to take from on board the dead body of some 
poor oldier for burial, who had made an exchange, we 
hoped, far better than the one he had in prospect at 
Vicksburg, that he had reached a mansion of peace be- 
yond the river more glorious than the earthly home of 
anxious, watching loved ones. As we steamed down the 
river a collier followed close in our wake, but gave to the 
breeze no white flag. Our steamer filled up her bunkers 
once from her supply of coal. The burden of her coal 
was for General Grant's work changing the course of the 
Mississippi at Vicksburg. One bright day as we steamed 
along near the banks on the Arkansas side of the river, 
we passed a mammoth tree lying on the ground near to 
and parallel with the river. As we were passing it twelve 
or fifteen Arkansas soldiers rose up from behind this 
tree, lifted their broad brimmed hats from their heads and 
waved them on high giving "Three cheers for Jeflf Davis." 
This was something new to us up there and those of us 
on deck responded to them with right good cheer; then 
they sank back behind their tree. Our steamer blew a 
blast from her whistle, we thought she was cheering 



The Lotus Land. 283 

with us, but when the collier came up opposite flying 
no white flag, they greeted her with a fusilade of mus- 
ketry, driving her to the opposite side and down the 
river with all the power she could muster, she, too, 
blowing her whistle with its loudest blasts. The pilot 
house was filled with shot, the pilot and one man was 
wounded, the only damage sustained. The Captain told 
us that these were an independent roving band in Arkan- 
sas, that did a great deal of hurt along the river. When 
our craft steamed up to the dock at Vicksburg we all 
passed out unmolested, a happy band with our feet 
planted again in Dixie's land. This was the last trip 
the "City of Madison" made. She was burned up on the 
next. We were passed on to Jackson, Miss., where those 
of us with unhealed wounds received furloughs to our 
homes until we were able to go to the front. We reached 
our homes in safety. Words are too weak and poor to 
express the joy of a soldier at home from the army, the 
prison, on a furlough. It was but a little while before 
we were able to return to the army and go on regular 
duty with our command, stationed at Tullahoma, Tenn. 
The Sixth Florida Regiment with a Walton County 
Company in it that was raised by Col. A. D. McLeon and 
afterwards commanded by Capt. S. D. Cawthon, were in 
Kentucky with our First Florida Regiment. They came 
in by way of Big Creek Gap, with Kirby Smith, and all 
came out by way of Cumberland Gap with Bragg. Wal- 
ton's soldiers in the First Regiments fought, soon after 
their return, in the first battle of Murfreesboro with 
distinction. The First and Third Regiments were moved 
the following summer to Mississippi and stationed 
around Jackson and fought in all the battles defending 
that place, with more loss to the enemy than to them, 



284 History of Walton County. 

we fighting most of the time from behind breastworks. 
We went from there on a forced march to support Vicks- 
burg. We were crossing big Black on our pontoons when 
the word reached us telling us of its capitulation. We fell 
back to Canton, then to Jackson, to Morton, and from 
there back to Tennessee. And we may say, Walton's 
troops fought in all the battles, from the battle "among 
the clouds" at Lookout Mountain to Atlanta. Walton's 
precious blood reddened Missionary Ridge and every 
mountain top, hill and valley that intervened. 



The Lotus Land. 285 



Chapter XLL 



Battle of Chickamauga. 

On Friday before the Chickamauga battle our Regi- 
ments, First and Third, were placed on the extreme left 
of our army, without provisions in our haversacks. The 
Sixth Florida was placed on the right. There was a little 
grist mill on one of these mountain torrent streams near 
where we were stationed that turned out flour very 
slowly. Our commissary man hauled up quite a lot of 
fine wheat to this mill, turned over the plant to us to 
grind, bake and eat as fast as we could, for they knew 
not at what moment the fight might come on. We run 
this mill day and night, each taking his turn catching 
the flour fresh from the mill, baking it on heated rocks 
and eating it while it was yet warm, for a day and night, 
without catching up with our hunger, when we had to go 
to the battle to drive back the Federal Cavalry from our 
source of supply. This incident is called to mind by a 
true story Col. Chipley always delighted in telling on 
D. L. McKinnon, who soon after the war commenced the 
practice of law in Walton. McKinnon had a client, a 
Mr. Daniels, who rented a little grist mill from a Mr. 
Henderson, on Alaqua creek for a part of its earnings. 
Daniels refused to pay the rent and was sued for posses- 
sion. Henderson was placed upon the stand and stated 
the contract to the jury. Then came Daniels, whose 
only plea was, that the mill would not make meal up to 
the capacity it was represented to him. McKinnon said 
to him, "Mr. Daniels, state to the jury how much grist 



286 History of Walton County. 

this mill would turn out per hour?" He replied, "I have 
never timed it by the hour." Tell them," said McKinnon, 
"how much per day?" "I have never timed it by the 
day," said Daniels. "Well," said McKinnon, "can't you 
give the jury some idea of its capacity for making grist?" 
Daniels innnocently said, "Well, I went down to the mill 
early one morning, put up a bushel of corn into the hop- 
per — hoisted the gate and put the mill to grinding. I 
went back to the mill just before noon — in four or five 
hours — I had a medium-sized hound dog and I found 
this dog of mine standing in the meal chest, eating the 
meal as fast as the mill ground it." Mr. McKinnon said, 
"Mr, Daniels, how long could this dog have continued to 
do this?" "I believe sir, he could have done it until he 
would have starved to death," said Daniels. So, too, 
we believe our command could have eaten the flour from 
that Chicamauga mountain mill as fast as it ground it, 
until we would all have starved to death. It is well 
to state here that McKinnon had to sue Daniels for his 
fee, Daniels claiming that it was his understanding that 
McKinnon was to take part of the damages for his fee. 
But we were not held at this mill to starve — we were 
called to the front to keep back the cavalry the next day 
— Saturday — and fought most of the day on the extreme 
left of our army, with but little losses in Walton's sol- 
diers. In the deep stillness of that late night, we were 
moved, by the way we came, from the extreme left to 
the extreme right of our army. As we plodded along by 
the little mill, we could hear it knocking away at its 
grist, the hungry soldiers would break ranks, run by and 
fill up their haversacks with what had accumulated 
through the hours we had been away beating back the 
U. S. cavalry. As we marched on, for miles, to do 



The Lotus Land. 287 

bloody battle all through that long coming day and well 
into its night, and when the day began to dawn and the 
glorious sun with its gentle rays of soft light began to 
light up the fields and forests that we were passing 
through — what a sickening, heartrending spectacle in car- 
nage — in bitter death, was presented to our view ! The 
day came to us, just as we were passing through the 
bloodiest battle-fields of the day before, and as we passed 
along, there lay on either hand both the soldiers in gray 
and the soldiers in blue, often close together. There lay 
dismantled field-pieces, horses and mules, piled up in 
death all about them. To add to the horrors of this scene 
of carnage in war, the forests were on fire, burning up 
the clothing and flesh of our fallen braves. No time for 
a halt, to protect or do homage to the bodies of these 
fallen brothers. For the command comes, "Hasten on in 
a forced march to shed more precious blood" — the glut- 
tonous appetite of cruel civil war is not satisfied. Oh, 
what a stench in the nostrils of tired, sleepy, hungry 
soldiers, marching on to ready battle ! Shame to our 
boasted civilized manhood ! No wonder delicate, tender 
woman turn aside and shudders now, at the thought of 
grim, cruel, civil war! A little after sunrise we were in 
line of battle, in front of the enemy's entrenched strong- 
holds, ready to charge their works. At the command, 
the charge was made with heavy loss, without moving 
them. It was repeated throughout the day, with first 
one brigade, or division, and then another, with great 
loss, and no good results. As the sun was passing away 
several lines of battle were formed in the oak scurb 
thicket as close up to the enemy's lines as we dared to go. 
All were commanded to lie down on the ground as flat as 
flounders and as quiet as beetles, and await orders. As 



288 History of Walton County. 

we lay there in this suspense, the sharpshooters' bullets 
flying thick above our heads, my brother, A. D. Mc- 
Kinnon, whispered to me, "The sun is now gone, there 
are three lines of battle in our front, and I don't think 
we will have to charge the works any more today, for 
before these in front of us get through it will be too 
dark for us to make a charge. 

The Charge That Won. 

When darkness was on, there came a whispered com- 
mand down the line to our line first: "Attention, 1st 
and 3rd Florida Regiments !" We were on our feet in 
automatic quickness and order, and then we were moved 
over and just beyond the three lines lying prostrate in 
our front, who readily forgave heavy tramping upon 
them in passing to the front. They, too, were brought 
to attention. Then this whispered order came to all, "At 
the words, 'forward, march,' let every soldier move to 
the front in quiet, perfect order, and at the words, 'charge 
bayonets,' let every man give the Rebel Yell, run with 
all his might right up to their breastworks, and let no one 
fire a gun until he is on their works.' These orders were 
admirably carried out — so said our division commander, 
Gen, John C. Breckenridge. When the last command 
was given — our brigade in the lead — was near enough to 
see the bulk of their breastworks through the deep shad- 
ows of the long departing day. The darkness that had 
come over them, and the consternation of that awful 
yell, caused the enemy to overshoot us, and we reached 
their works with loaded guns, while theirs were empty. 
They thought to do the decent thing — throw theirs down 
and take to the woods, so the day made glorious, was 



The Lotus Land. 389 

ours in its close. Worn out, and hungry, we were parked 
in the thicket, just in the rear of these works near the 
edge of an old field. Scouts were put out to gather in 
those who were cut off from their main army, and all 
through the night and next forenoon, bands of armed 
and unarmed Union soldiers were brought in, and some 
came into our lines seeking their commands. Quite a 
batch of them came to Walton's camps inquiring after 
their division. They were told that they were in Breck- 
enridge's division, who was pointed out to them a little 
ways in the grove, sitting on the ground in his shirt- 
sleeves, with his legs doubled in front of him broiling 
a bit of meat on the live coals. When they realized their 
mistake, they seemed somewhat relieved to know that 
they were in his command, and when they had surren- 
dered their arms, they desired to see him more closely. 
And they were escorted by quite a number of the guard 
to where he sat on the ground. They gathered anxiously 
around him — some climbed up trees that stood about 
him to get a better view. One — a little Irishman — short 
of stature, being crowded back cried out, "General, will 
you please stand up so that we may have a good look at 
you?" The General readily stood up with his broiled 
bacon on a bit of corn bread in his left hand, his knife 
in his right, straightening himself up to his manly height, 
he said, "Well, gentlemen, this is what is left of me." 
The little Irishman exclaimed, "Yes, and a d — m fine 
specimen of humanity you are, too ! There is not another 
such a hunk of humanity in our land ! I voted for you 
once, and I want this cursed war over with so that I 
may vote for you again for president." We cheered and 
they cheered. The General thanked all and said to them 
as they retired, "We will take the best care of you we 



290 History of Walton County. 

can. I am willing to divide this morsel with you all (the 
bit of bread and meat in his hand) if you think we can 
make it go around." They thanked him for the kind 
offer. Now, all who ever saw this noble man know how 
very truly the little Irishman appreciated his elegant 
physique, for he surely was as fine a specimen of human- 
ity as ever animated a human soul, and was as good as 
his looks. It was an inspiration to look upon his manly, 
symmetrical form, to look into his intelligent, beaming 
eyes, sparkling with benignity. We left Henry Hatcher 
for dead on the field in one of our morning charges — 
shot in the face. Six months afterwards we got a letter 
from home stating that he had spent the night with them, 
and says he was captured three times that day and re- 
taken each time. I never see him or think of this but as 
a miracle. We remained on this battle ground until we 
rested and got enough to eat once more. Walton's loss, 
in killed and wounded, was considerable in Sunday's 
battles. After this battle the 6th, 7th, and 4th consoli- 
dated with the 1st Florida cavalry (dismounted) were 
put with the 1st and 3rd Florida regiments and were put 
in one brigade. J. J. Finley was made general and this 
command was known 'till close of the war as the "Florida 
Brigade," and after this, the history of Walton's soldiers 
is practically the same. 



The Lotus Land. 391 



Chapter XLH. 

General Joseph E. Johnston's Battles and Retreats to 

Atlanta. 

General Johnston in falling back to Atlanta confronted 
the enemy in line of battle in every conceivable way, on 
the hills and in the plains, on the mountain tops and 
valleys — in the scrub woods and open fields. Some even- 
ings the two armies would be drawn up in lines of battle 
near each other, with nothing but a little woodland in a 
ravine intervening; and we would predict that the next 
day's sun would rise and set in blood. But the next 
morning would find us far apart and no battle fought. 
On this retreat to Atlanta, on one occasion, double lines 
of breastworks, of the two armies, were drawn so close 
together on the top of the mountains, that it was difficult 
a little ways to the right or left to tell from which works 
the "Stars and Bars" or the "Stars and Stripes" waved. 
They were built so close together that water carriers 
would pass over through mistake into the wrong lines 
with their water. These confronting lines, when permit- 
ted, would keep up a friendly conversation with each 
other in an ordinary tone of voice. Yet they would 
charge each others works, trying to take them, and be 
mown down like wheat in the field. Then they would 
have an armistice to bury the dead. After abandoning 
these works in such close proximity, and manoeuvering 
and skirmishing around for several days, we fell back 
into a well prepared, one line breastworks. It was evi- 
dent to us all that it was laid out by good engineers who 



292 History of Walton County. 

knew their duty, who prepared it with a view to our 
acting on the defensive altogether. It ran almost north 
and south along a ridge with a deep ravine in front. All 
the undergrowth was cut down in the ravine and well 
up on the opposite hill slope, and these were tangled and 
tied so as to make an almost unapproachable, impreg- 
nable line of defense — impossible for the enemy to sur- 
prise or reach us alive. Of course, the enemy came up 
and entrenched on the opposite hill and threw out their 
picket line in the woodland in their front. We were well 
pleased with this situation and rested complacently for 
several days in perfect safety, with no picket line in our 
front. We kept watch from the ditches, all sleeping on 
our arms while there. But one afternoon, while the 
soldiers lay closely in the ditches for protection from 
sharpshooters' bullets, many of them enjoying sweet 
sleep, there came an order down the line from our right 
through the officers, ''Put your men in readiness to pass 
over the breastworks and take the enemy's line in their 
front." Capt. McKinnon had to awaken from sleep sever- 
al of his men to give the order and whispered to me as he 
passed, "I feel that I am awakening these men to go to 
their deaths." And it was true with very many of them. 
Just as we were crossing over in front of our works Capt. 
McKinnon called to me, saying. "Col. McLean is dead, 
shot through the head !" Shot while moving up the line 
getting his men ready to pass over to the front — shot by 
sharpshooters' bullets. He fell here as the first sacrifice 
of the day's battle — a noble young soldier — my kinsman, 
my schoolmate for many years at old Knox Hill Acad- 
emy. There too stood Capt. Saxson, next in rank to 
Capt. McKinnon, wounded in the head and blood stream- 
ing down his face, received while crossing the works. 



The Lotus Land. 293 

We all rushed down the hill into the ravine and then up 
the hill into the grove into the very jaws of death, our 
men falling- along ever}^ step of the route. There we 
found the enemy entrenched behind well prepared works, 
and a strong picket line in pits just in front of them, 
with commissioned officers in the pits with them. We 
went close up to their picket line in the grove before we 
commenced firing on them. Of course, they had all the 
advantage over us. Our flag-bearer. Sergeant Bazemore, 
fell at my right with flag and face towards the enemy. A 
commissioned officer jumped out of the pit, with sword 
drawn, pointed to the flag, saying to his men in the pit, 
"Take it ! Take it !" I directed John Love McLean to di- 
rect his firing line on this officer, and he did and was 
wounded in return in the thigh, and had to be taken to 
the rear. Others fired on him, but he seemed to be invul- 
nerable. In the meantime Sergeant Bridgman snatched 
up the flag and lifted it on high in its place. Bridgman 
was shot down and the flag fell again. The smoke from 
the firing of the two armies became so dense that it 
almost enveloped the place in darkness, which was to 
our advantage. Lieutenant Stebbins grabbed the flag 
when Bridgman fell. The order was given to fall back to 
our breastworks. Stebbins, though badly wounded, tore 
the flag from its staff, crammed it in his bosom and 
brought it off. Passing the infirmary corps with many 
wounded friends and as we were rising to the top of the 
hill, and very near our works of safety, Capt. Columbus 
Cobb, from that part of Walton that went to make Santa 
Rosa county, turned to me and said, "Did you ever hear 
of such a fool order for the massacre of noble men?" 
These words had scarcely passed his lips when a minnie 
ball struck him in the left side, and he fell over on his 



294 History of Walton County. 

face a dead man without a struggle. I ran to him, tried 
to lift him, but soon found that he was gone. Almost 
safe behind our impregnable breastworks, but lost! The 
curtains of night were being let down around us as we 
reached our fortifications. And there were such a run- 
ning to and fro, up and down the line by the relatives 
and friends inquiring after their loved ones. The ravine 
and hillside were being searched under the sable cover of 
the welcome night, and many brought out. In the midst 
of this hurrying to and fro in search of loved ones, I heard 
a voice among those anxious inquirers that I recognized 
to be the voice of Capt. Cobb's young son, and this was 
the inquiry he was making, ''Can any of you tell me of the 
whereabouts of my dear father? He was seen after the 
battle, unwounded, by several, passing up the ravine just 
in front of us. I searched up and down the ravine, but 
could not find him. I called to him but no answer. I 
went up and down the line of works but no one could 
tell me of him. I went to the hospital tent in our rear 
and searched among the wounded, but he could not be 
found there." It was my painful duty to go to the dis- 
tressed young son and tell him what I knew, and go with 
him and other friends and members of his company, just 
a little ways in front of where we stood, in that dark- 
some night and point out the dead body of his dear 
father, just as I had left it. The son fell upon his father's 
neck and wept bitterly, saying, "This is why you did 
not answer when T called so anxiously, so loudly for 
you !" This was to me one of the most pathetic scenes 
I witnessed during the war. I myself was among those 
anxious ones, searching after absent loved ones. I had 
two brothers, Capt. McKinnon, a younger brother. A. 
D. McKinnon. and a nephew. John Love McLean, all 



The Lotus Land. 295 

absent, and for a while all I could learn of them was that 
they had been seen on the battle-field badly wounded. 
I learned in the later night-time that they had been taken 
to the hospital tent and were being cared for. Oh ! I 
shall never forget the sad solitary thoughts that kept 
vigil in my active mind all through that long, lonely, 
bloody night ! This battle is called by some, "New 
Hope Church," by others, "Dallas." Early the following- 
morning we were informed that this charge was a mis- 
take — another illustration of the saying, "We did not 
know that it was loaded" — a wrong, misunderstood order. 
But let the reader remember here, that its fatal work, 
its sad results, were just as real as if the order had been 
genuine, and emanating from the proper headquarters. 
Beware of mistakes. 

In other breastworks near Atlanta on a holy Sabbath 
evening, as we lay enjoying its quiet, Walton's com- 
panies, together with the balance of their regiments, re- 
ceived a compliment, not much coveted in those days. 
The brigade picket lines in our front had been taken 
by the enemy. Our division commander, General Bates, 
ordered our brigade commander to send his best regi- 
ment to retake the line. Our regiment was called out. 
We leaped over our breastworks and in a little while we 
were in possession of the picket line in our front with 
but little damage. We remained in this fortified place 
near Atlanta for some time, driving back the enemy's ad- 
vances on our works from time to time. It was during 
our stay here that General Bates was wounded and Gen- 
eral John C. Brown of Tennessee was put in his place to 
command us. 



2\)G History of Walton County. 

General Brown Cheered, 

Gen. Brown was a great favorite with the Florida Brig- 
ade ; it was he that went with us through Kentucky and 
commanded us in the battle of Perryville. The officers 
and men were drawn very close to him. Notice was 
given that he would be around with his staff on a certain 
morning to inspect the division. Capt. Call Tippins. a 
tall, stout young man, with exuberant spirits, full of 
enthusiasm, always finding something good in prospect, 
and a greater admirer of the General than any of us, went 
around through the brigade, especially through the 1st 
Florida Regiment, boosting up the men to give General 
Brown a rousing cheer, when he came around to inspect 
reminding them of his kindness, his gentleness on the 
Kentucky march, how he fell wounded by our side at 
Perryville, that he would appreciate the compliment and 
that it would be well for us in the afterwards. All will- 
ingly assented, and agreed that it would be the very thing 
for the occasion. Now, old soldiers can appreciate how 
indifferent, how very contrary soldiers in the ditches in 
those days could be when they tried — hollowing and 
cheering when they should be silent and keeping silent 
when they should cheer. On the approach of the Gen- 
eral and his staff, Capt. Tippins had Dr. Landrum and 
myself to stand with him in front of our regiment when 
the party was opposite, the Captain lifted his "flint and 
steel" cap, whirled it around his head, proposing the 
three cheers for General John C. Brown, and whooped 
with about all the power he could command, and that 
was great. Dr. Landrum and I, the only ones joining — 
he gave the second whoop and Landrum dropped out, 
I alone joining him ; he gave the third, and it was more 



Thu Lotus Land. 297 

strenuous, if possible, than the others, and it went ring- 
ing down alone through the quiet forest. General Brown 
lifted his hat modestly and rode on. It was hard to say 
which of the two, the General or the Captain, we were 
the sorriest for. The Captain did not see the General 
when he lifted his hat ; he had turned his back on him 
before the last whoop was out of his mouth, and com- 
menced abusing the brigade in general, the 1st Florida 
Regiment especially, venting the greatest power of his 
spleen on Dr. Landrum and myself. He was in a condi- 
tion to fight the whole brigade, if they had come out to 
him. He said, "You all have disgraced yourselves and 
are not fit to be called Confederate soldiers." Turning 
to Landrum and myself, he said, "You two stood with 
me here and promised to lead with me in the cheer and 
didn't do it." Landrum spoke up and told him he cheered 
the first time and dropped out, seeing no one else was 
going to join him. I told him — I assured him — that I 
joined him in the first and second whoops. He declared 
that no one joined him in the third and last whoop. Lan- 
drum said to him, "You are mistaken, Captain. I saw 
Statam join you in the third." Now, Statam had lost 
his voice and could not speak above a whisper. This 
started the Captain anew and about this time several 
came running up from the 6th Florida Regiment that 
lay well back in the grove, under the hill, in reserve, ask- 
ing who was shot, as several of their friends had been 
shot walking about the front line. The Captain answer- 
ed quickly, "No one is shot, but a set of fool men here 
have disgraced themselves and ought to be shot." It 
was but a little while before we had the Captain in 
good humor. He is a good, jolly soul, and can't stay 
mad with any one long. I have had many hearty laughs 



298 History of Walton County. 

from crowds in and around Pensacola and other places, 
telling this true joke in his presence and enjoy it today 
when memory brings it up. The poverty of the English 
language renders it too inefficient to set up this story in 
its true risibleness as it happened there on that day. 
Only those who heard it and witnessed the scene can 
fully appreciate it. 



The Lotus Land. 399 



Chapter XLII. 

General Joseph E. Johnston is Superseded by General 

John B. Hood, Who Goes in Rear of 

General Sherman. 

After many days of worrying in the ditches around 
Atlanta, trying to keep back the enemy in arms — re- 
sorting to every means possible, to keep our bodies 
rid of the loathsome vermin that were annoying us quite 
as much as the armed forces, boiling and washing our 
bedding and clothing of every description from day to 
day, when there came a partial relief from an unexpected 
source, and with many regrets, General Johnston, a great 
favorite with our army, was superseded by General Hood, 
who takes us out of the ditches into the open, on a forced 
march to go in rear of General Sherman. On our way 
we found a federal garrison stationed at Decatur. In 
the night-time we surrounded them with a picket line, 
who dug ditches for their protection through the fol- 
lowing day and held them in until the army passed by. 

General Pat Cleborne Addresses His Men. 

At Powder Springs we serenaded General Cleborne 
and he spoke to us at some length, explaining to us the 
purpose of the rear move — the forced march — the result, 
if it succeeded, the consequences if it failed. He urged 
every man to do his whole duty, to stand firm by the 
righteous cause they had espoused. He pictured to us 
Ireland in its downfallen and trampled condition and told 
us if we failed our condition would be much worse than 



300 History of Walton County. 

that of Ireland's, as long as that spirit of hate and re- 
venge lived in the North. In closing his address that 
night he turned his face towards the skies and with all 
the fervenc}'^ of his soul he exclaimed. "If this cause that 
is so dear to my heart is doomed to fail, I pray heaven 
may let me fall with it, while my face is toward the 
enemy and my arm battling for that which I know to be 
right. It was one of the most stirring patriotic speeches 
I ever listened to. Early the next morning, we moved 
on with quick steps and buoyant hearts, feeling as free 
as animals loosed from their cages. The roads were 
rocky, and over hills and mountains we moved so rap- 
idly it was difficult for commissary wagons to forage for 
us, and keep up so as to supply us at night. The soles 
of the men's shoes were being worn through against the 
sharp rocks. In the last days of the march, the butchers 
would go ahead, kill and butcher the meat along the road 
the army was to pass, and hand it in hunks out to the men 
as they passed to take it in their haversacks to cook and 
eat in the camp when they stopped at night. In some 
instances the beef was just killed by the side of the road, 
hide stripped from it and the men had to cut off pieces 
in passing by. Many of them would cut soles for their 
shoes from the green hide and put them inside of their 
shoes with the flesh side down to protect their feet from 
the sharp rocks. Others whose shoes were about gone, 
made themselves shoes out of these green beef skins, sew- 
ing them with whangs cut from the raw hide, which 
served them for a while, in keeping their bleeding feet 
from the cruel, sharp rocks. 



The Lotus Land. 301 



Chapter XLIV. 



The Battle of Franklin. 

It is early in the evening before the battle. We are 
nearing Franklin, Tenn., marching by the flank through 
an open valley, to take our position on the line of battle — 
the enemy is firing cannon shot and shell at us as we pass, 
from a clump of trees on a lofty mountain top to our 
right — the missiles falling at one time short of us, and 
then over our heads. General Hood is being abused for 
being reckless in having us exposed to that open fire, 
while he and his staff were in secure quarters. In a 
little while the General and his staflF ride by us, turn 
to the right in the direction of the firing, riding out of 
sight into the woods that covered the artillery, to where 
he had his picket line thrown out, that he might locate 
the position of his line of battle around Franklin. Noth- 
ing more was said about his "bomb-proof security." The 
battle was fought well into the night and was a dear but 
complete victory for the Confederates — the enemy fleeing 
in confusion. The boys called this battle "Hoods Kill- 
ing." It was the bloodiest battle fought during the war — 
more men killed in proportion to those engaged than in 
any other battle, and more generals killed. What a 
bloody scene that battle-field presented the next morn- 
ing! The enemy gone — I go to find the body of my 
friend, Luther Fisher, another one of my schoolmates at 
old Knox Hill. He is not far from where General Cle- 
borne fell, who had passed the enemy's works, and after 
having had two horses shot from under him, and while 



302 History of Walton County. 

driving them back. There the General — that ideal officer 
and soldier — lay surrounded by his friends in tears, ready 
to bear his body away for burial. His sword, no doubt, 
in his hand when he fell, and his face turned toward the 
enemy, while he battled for his cause. How truly, how 
literally true was that prayer answered made at Powder 
Springs. General Hood sits in Franklin on a veranda 
with his elbow resting on a table, his hand supporting his 
head, and as he looks on the depleted ranks as they pass, 
the torn rifled white and blue flags, representing regi- 
ments not a great deal bigger than companies of the day 
before, and when he thinks of his noble generals who fell 
in that battle, great tears rolled down his florid, weather- 
beaten face. We hasten on to take up the railroad and 
fight the second battle of Murfreesboro. After accom- 
plishing this mission, the army hastens on to Nashville ; 
and the writer, in charge of the "Bare-footed Brigade," is 
to follow as a rear guard. In a little while one of General 
Forrest's staff officers, with his courier, comes in haste 
to us, with orders to form a line of battle along the West- 
ern edge of a field close up to the woods, running north 
and south ; when formed the scattering cavalry formed 
on our left, and we presented quite a formidable front to 
the enemy at a distance across the field, and saved a 
part of General Forrest's cavalry from being bagged. The 
body of the army had hastened on to Nashville, Tenn., 
and laid out a line of battle under very poor engineering. 
We went into these works in the late night-time on Dec. 
__, 1864, and when the day dawned, private soldiers fa- 
miliar with lines of battle pointed out defects that could 
be, and were taken advantage of by the enemy, in enfilad- 
ing our lines, and which cost us several lives to remedy. 
The day opened up with one continuous roar of cannon 



The Lotus Land. 303 

and fusillades of musketry that lasted from early morn- 
ing until well onto evening — the enemy charging our 
works with double lines, first at one place and then 
at another, trying to make a breach in them ; but were 
driven back with great loss each time, until the evening 
was well nigh gone, when they concentrated their artil- 
lery firing on the very top of the mountain to our left, 
and kept up for a time the most terrific firing of the war. 
They had amassed their infantry under the cover of this 
firing, made a charge with a triple line of battle and 
broke our line on the very peak of the mountain. The 
triple line extended as far down the mountain as the 
front of the Florida Brigade, and we were driving them 
back with great jubilation from our front when private 
Robt. Holley turned his face towards me to reload, grab- 
bed me by the right arm, with a grasp I long felt, and 
said, "Look at the U. S. flag on our breastworks!" I 
looked to my left and there it was, our ditches empty, 
the men escaping through the mountain woodlands ; I 
turned to our rear and they were going pell-mell through 
an open field, to gain a dense grove just beyond, the fed- 
eral army disorderly following. The officers that came 
into the field with their men from the mountain top, 
where the line was first broken, signaled to us who were 
left in their rear in the ditches, with their handkerchiefs 
not to shoot. Our men in the valley saw the breach in 
our line before we saw it and escaped beyond the field 
to their rear. In a jiflFy the Federal army was coming 
in from right, left and front, while the bullets were whis- 
tling over our heads from every direction. They cried, 
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" They jumped into the 
ditches with us, and when the bullets quit flying over us, 
an officer said to me, "Let me have your sword ; let's all 



304 History of Walton County. 

get out of the ditches and go to the rear." We had gone 
but a little ways to the rear, when I heard a call to me for 
help, out of the woodland to our left. I knew the voice, 
it was my relative, my old schoolmate, one of Walton's 
soldiers from the 6th Regiment that fought to our left, 
on the slope of the mountain — Lieut. Archibald G. Mor- 
rison. I ran to him without thinking to ask permission. 
But the officer followed close by. He asked the officer 
to let me remain with him. He was asked, "Is he your 
brother?" He replied, "He is my relative, and I beg of 
you to leave him with me." He left me with him and 
went on with the rest. We were then alone for a little 
while, save the dead and dying. He was shot after he 
had surrendered his sword and had gone some distance to 
the rear — through mistake we hoped. He lay suffering 
with his head in my lap, with his hands pressed to the 
pit of his stomach — he thought he was struck in front. 
I examined and found no incision there at all, and felt 
encouraged and spoke encouraging words to him ; told 
him that I thought it was the contusion of a shell or a 
minnie ball that struck him and all would be well in a 
little while. Then the captain of the provost guard came 
up with his band of men, a nice, genteel, courteous man, 
with a kind heart in him. He inquired into the whole 
situation, expressed regrets, especially at having been 
wounded by mistake, after he had surrendered. While 
he was with us I made a more thorough examination, 
and found that he had been shot in the right side, well 
to the back, and that it must have been the ball resting 
in his breast that caused the pain there. The captain left 
two of his men to guard us with instructions, "As soon 
as he is able to move on, take them to Nashville and de- 
liver them to the command there," and then passed on to 



^ 



The Lotus Land. 305 

the front. In a little while, a part of the army which 
seemed to have had no part in the day's battle, came on, 
marching by the flank, and as they passed by, some of 
them said tormenting things to us, and asked truculent 
questions of us. One, I remember, said, "We got you 
piled up, ha? Just say the Lord's prayer and put your 
trust in Abraham Lincoln and you will come out all 
right." This brought a great laugh from his comrades — 
he was the smart Alec of his band. How savage such ad- 
vice to a dying man ! Not many months after this, Abra- 
ham Lincoln lay bleeding and dying from the hands of an 
assassin, with his head in the lap of a lady, as helpless 
as my friend lay with his in mine. Oh, how foolish it 
would have been for him to have put his trust in this 
great man — in any man! No, my friend had his trust 
stayed on a higher and better rock — the Rock of Ages. 
And as the smoky day died out of the skies, with declin- 
ing hope, my friend, realizing fully his condition, spoke 
a few kind words of sweet remembrance for his mother 
and then said to me, "I had hoped that it might have 
been different with me in the end ; but it is all right." 
And with that dying day, there came to him from on 
high a voice saying, "You have stayed long enough in 
this mountain ; come up higher." And he passed on high- 
er up the mountain, even to the beautiful Mount of God. 
I had the guard to go with me to our breastworks to 
where I knew there were pick and spade and went to 
work digging the grave at once on that mountain side, 
head resting by one of the great mountain oaks that had 
withstood the storms for ages. I picked and dug in the 
rock all that cold, bleak December night before I got it 
deep enough ; neither of the guard offering to help, and 
I too proud to ask them. While it was yet dark in that 



306 History of Walton County. 

early morning and the grave ready, I had to ask them 
to take hold of the corners of the blanket and help me to 
lower the body into the grave. They did this very read- 
ily and gently. I gathered the soft mould and then the 
rock over the grave, marked it, as best I could, rolling 
down a stone to the head, planting the mattock there by 
it at the head and the spade at the feet, and cut his ini- 
tials on the tree ; and then my work was over. I had 
done all that I could. The sun was well up in the trees, 
so I stopped for a little rest. I shall never forget the still- 
ness — the painful silence, that reigned supreme in that 
mountain forest — coming after the din of battle, the 
groans of the wounded and dying, the noise of the ambu- 
lances as they went rolling to and fro through the night, 
bearing away the wounded and the dying, and the com- 
mands of men moving the dead and wounded down a 
steep place in the mountain to reach the ambulance. I 
surveyed well the situation amid this silence, and 
thought then, if I were among the spared, and even had 
an opportunity, I could and would come to this sacred 
spot. 

Visits Nashville's Battle Ground. 

(While in Louisville, Ky., in A. D. 1896 attending the 
Confederate Reunion with A. G. Campbell and my three 
oldest daughters, we arranged on our return to stop 
over at Nashville and visit the grave of my friend and 
relative. We ordered a carriage from a livery there, 
with a driver that could take us along Hood's old line of 
battle. We got what we ordered, and started in the 
early morning, but when we got there we found the topog- 
raphy of that section so changed, by the felling of trees, 
building of fences and macadamized roads that it was im- 



The Lotus Land. 307 

possible to designate the sacred spot. In passing through 
Franklin a gentleman of that town pointed out to us an 
academy built on the very spot where Gen. Pat Cleborne 
fell.) Now, this short December day was going by as this 
silent survey and soliloquy was going on with me — when 
the officer in charge of the infirmary corps came to us 
and told the sergeant — one of the men who held me in 
charge — to take me to Nashville and deliver me to the offi- 
cer in charge of the penitentiary. The day was well 
spent when we started. We met all along the way, quite 
a lot of scattering cavalrymen. One called to the guard 
saying, "Why don't you take his hat and shoes and let 
him go in bare ? That is the way they do us." He would 
not have gotten much had he obeyed. Another stopped 
and insisted that the guard search me, and if he found 
money, take it and divide up with him. I had some 
money and this speech put me on my guard and I placed 
it as securely on my person as I could. It was in the late 
evening when we reached the suburbs of the city; we 
stopped at the first grocery store we came to, the guard 
bought crackers and cheese and divided with me, without 
asking if I had money to pay for a lunch. He did for 
me just what I intended doing for him had I not been 
warned. I feared nothing from him for he treated me 
gentlemanly all the time. This was the first I ate since 
noon the day before, and I certainly appreciated it, espe- 
cially coming as it did. 



308 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XLV. 

Lady Sympathizers. 

When we got well up into the city, walking along on 
the sidewalk, two pretty young Southern ladies, dressed 
in black, joined us, walking close by my side for some 
distance giving sympathy and asking many pertinent 
questions about the battle of the day before, and the army 
left at Atlanta, that they were very much interested in, 
all of which, I was able and gratified to answer satisfac- 
torily. As we passed up with this delightful company, 
to me, jostled about with the throng of passers-by, we 
met the "Officer of the Day," who stopped us and told 
the guard not to allow any further conversation with the 
prisoner. Like a good soldier, he obeyed, telling me not 
to engage in further conversation with the ladies. We 
moved on, the ladies continuing to walk closely and 
silently by me. We had gone but a little ways, when 
the same officer halted the guard, saying, "Take the 
prisoner oflF the pavement and carry him up the street." 
As we went up the street, these ladies walked on the 
outside of the pavement close up to the curbing, opposite 
to, and near us, for several blocks, until we turned to go 
into the prison. There was more to me in their silent 
walk, their anxious look of sympathy, than all the words 
of encouragement they had spoken. Their bright cherry 
faces beaming with Southern beauty, grace and love, sent 
cheer into my sad, discouraged heart, kindling a flame 
there, that burned afresh through my bleak prison life 
and brings cheer, even today, when sweet recollections 



The Lotus Land. 309 

call them up. No one can know, without experiencing 
it, the power of good in sympathy under such circum- 
stances as these. Oh, how buoyant declining hope did 
become, with such silent bewitching sympathy from our 
Southern beauties. They had gotten my name and reg- 
iment. I intended getting their full address, but was cut 
ofif by that censorious officer. The guard delivered me 
to the officer at the entrance of the penitentiary. When 
ushered in, I was surprised to find so many political 
prisoners in there and among them were some of the first 
ladies of Tennessee, for speaking what they called, "dis- 
respectful words" to officers. Was surprised to find 
Lieut. Neill L McKinnon from our company there. 
Thought he had escaped. 



310 History of Walton County, 



Chapter XL VI. 

To Johnson's Island Prison in Lake Erie. 

The next day they sent all the commissioned officers to 
Johnson's Island prison, opposite Sandusky City, Ohio. 
We changed cars in Louisville, Ky., and while there, in 
the streets, the sympathizing ladies came right into our 
ranks, giving us open words of cheer and encourage- 
ment for our cause, and were only driven back to the 
pavements at the point of the Federal bayonets. And 
then they never ceased to express sympathy while we 
remained there. Our next stop was at Indianapolis, Ind. 
While grouped under the car shed, among those who 
wanted to look at us, was a slender cross-eyed fellow 
dressed in a Sergeant's U. S. uniform. We readily 
recognized him to be G. A. Rebb, once the adjutant of 
our regiment, who deserted us on Bragg's march through 
Kentucky. We all called out to him, "deserter, sneak, 
scalawag," and he hurried away through the crowd, and 
the Federal soldiers enquired more into his history. We 
are standing on the water front in Sandusky City early 
on Christmas morning. December's surly blast is com- 
ing strong across the frozen lake cutting our defenceless 
faces and poorly clad bodies. Both the outer and inner 
soles of our shoes were worn through, and in this con- 
dition we were moved on to the ice, facing a stiff 
Norther, while it snowed or sleeted just enough to 
make the ice more difficult to walk on. Never did men 
inexperienced have such a time walking on ice. We 
would slip and fall, and the first part of our bodies to 



The Lotus Land. 311 

meet the ice would be our heads and shoulders, which 
were beaten blue with heavy licks. We reached the 
Island prison alive, after a time, in this bruised, frozen 
condition, and lived, but only through the support of our 
strength-giving God. I can but look on this march over 
that frozen lake, on that severe day, as a miracle of life 
preservation. Lieut. McKinnon, my cousin, and I, were 
put in block No. 11. We found the men living on scant 
rations in retaliation for the scant rations at Anderson- 
ville, Ga. We entered the prison hungry, and remained 
hungry dreaming of something to eat, while we stayed 
there, until after the surrender. While all suffered with 
hunger it was harder with some than with others. It 
took more to keep some than others, and there were some 
who could not, or would not divide their ten days' rations 
up into ten parts, so as to have some each day, but would 
eat and be without in the end, and go about in a woeful 
condition. When we were in such want Congress only 
lacked a few votes of cutting these stinted rations smaller. 
Capt. Wilson from Arkansas, but a native of Kentucky 
headed a list of men who swore with an oath, that if the 
bill cutting the rations became a law, and was put into 
execution they would go in a body and charge the walls 
to make their escape or be killed, rather than starve to 
death. And we all knew that they would have done it, 
for they were becoming reckless as it was. Of course 
the subject of something to eat was the all absorbing 
subject for discussion in the prison at this time. One 
morning after the sergeant had finished our roll call and 
we were awaiting the drum beat to disband, this subject 
was being discussed, when the sergeant remarked, "These 
men you see on guard duty came in from Andersonville 
prison two days ago, they saw the rations issued to you 



312 History of Walton County. 

yesterday and said it was twice as much as they got at 
Andersonville." Then Capt. Wilson spoke up with a loud 

voice and said, "They are d d liars and the very fact 

that they are there on duty proves it, for you know, no 
men could do guard duty on less rations than we receive 
here." We realized in this prison, how very difficult it 
is to get men and keep them on an equality in this world. 
It does seem to me if there was a place in this world 
where men could be placed and kept on an equality in 
material matters, it would be on a water or ice bound is- 
land prison like this and too, at a time, when retaliation, 
like this was on. Yet we can't say all fared alike here in 
getting rations as strict as they were in retaliating. Some 
controlled money through friends outside and succeeded in 
getting the guard to smuggle in something to eat. Some 
got boxes in on the sick list through their physician and 
in other ways. Such a prison is the place to study and 
know men, and we were glad to have learned here that 
there were so many unselfish men cooped up together on 
this island. And when we think of how many kinds of 
people it takes to make our world, we have reason to be 
thankful that we get along together as well as we do. 
Dr. G. P. Henry, Capt. J. T. Stubbs, Lieut. Rice and 
Capt. Angus McMillan were prisoners there with me. 
While our bodies were poorly clad and fed, our minds 
and souls were richly fed. W^e had plenty of good books 
and splendid opportunities in literature and Bible study. 
Dr. J. L. Girardeau, a Presbyterian minister and army 
chaplain from North Carolina was a prisoner with us 
and did splendid work there, teaching a Bible class and 
preaching on the Sabbaths. I never enjoyed any thing 
in a religious way so much as I did his teachings there. 
They were antidotes for hunger for a little while. The 



The Lotus Land. 313 

prison life was not an idle life. There were real geniuses 
there. A great deal was done there in the way of art in 
drawing pictures and making ingenious toys. It did 
look like it would be impossible for one to make his 
escape from such a prison yet there were some constantly 
making their escape. 

The winter is gone on the Island, the ice is being 
broken up by the winds and sun and piled in great heaps 
against the spiling driven by Commodore Perry on the 
Sandusky side. The migrating birds are returning from 
my dear Southern home by the Mexican gulf, from Flor- 
ida's lovely shores where they went to escape the rigors 
of the severe winters in the cold North. And how I 
wished that I had wings like they, that I might fly away 
and be with loved ones. The days are lengthening out 
and growing hotter and hotter as they lengthen. The 
mail steamer is making her regular daily trips back and 
forth from Sandusky City along the line we came over 
on frozen water, but like the birds, these mails bring no 
glad news from our homes. But one day as we sat in 
the quiet solitude of the evening in our prison home, with 
our faces like the Jew's, homeward turned, we saw the 
mail steamer coming across the lake, with the stars and 
stripes flying at high mast, with yards of red, white and 
blue bunting running from stem to stern on either side 
encircling the whole boat, and with lesser flags flying all 
about the steamer. We knew that it was bringing news, 
bad news for us. We awaited its arrival with bated 
breath. It landed at the dock on the outside, and there 
went up a shout of triumph from the crowd that gathered 
there. And the news was soon broken to us — "General 
Lee had surrendered at Appomattox." This sad intelli- 
gence fell lik^e a cyclone on our unprepared ears. It pre- 



314 History of Walton County. 

saged the downfall of the Confederacy and introduced 
new topics for discussion. That night Sandusky City 
was painted red. Skyrockets and fire works of every de- 
scription leaped up into the black skies, dispelling the 
darkness, while a continual roar of artillery jarred the 
earth. As we stood in groups looking and listening to 
this jubilation outside, over our downfall, one remarked, 
"If it is thus in this little city what is it in the great 
cities all over this Northern country? Thousands and 
thousands of dollars are being spent in this night's rev- 
elry." Dr. J. L. Girardeau standing in the group, said, 
"Yes. and here we are, their prisoners, in actual need of 
the daily bread of life. I look for God to bring this 
nation into mourning for this night's extravagant, hila- 
rious rejoicings." The all absorbing question about some- 
thing to eat is relegated to the background for a while 
and what is to be done with the prisoners is brought to 
the front. Some advancing tragic ideas, others treating 
it flippantly, and some with indifference, while others 
gave it cool sober thought. Quite a lot of us fell back 
on the hope that the scattered army might rally around 
Kirby Smith and make a stand in the Trans Mississippi. 
While these matters were uppermost in the minds for 
discussion and all waiting and watching anxiously for 
every mail to bring some grounds to base our hopes upon, 
yet each mail brought darker prospects for our hope to 
rest upon. 

Lincoln Assassinated. 

Late one evening we saw the L^. S. mail boat steaming 
over from the city in quite a different attire to that pre- 
sented in her coming a few days before. Instead of the 
symbols of joy and glory, we find those of sorrow and 



The Lotus Land. 315 

mourning. Instead of the flag of the union waving from 
the topmost mast, it swings at half-mast, expressive of 
grief. Instead of the bunting in its bright National col- 
ors — red, white and blue — the deep black crape expres- 
sive of sorrow takes its place, encircling the entire steam- 
er in its graceful draping folds. Instead of the shout of 
victory when she rounded up to the outside wharf as 
before, men stood with bowed heads in silence. It was 
evident to us all that something sad had come to the 
nation. But none could divine what it was. Soon after 
the landing, a courier came around to every block telling 
us, "At the beat of the drum you are ordered to assemble 
yourselves in front of the great gate, and General Hill, 
commander of the post, will address you from the ele- 
vated stand." That was all he knew to tell us. We 
readily assembled ourselves as ordered. After address- 
ing himself to us, he read this telegram in substance : 
"Last night as President Lincoln sat with his family in 
a private box in 'Ford's Theatre' in this city he was 
shot to death by an assassin — J. Wilkes Booth — who is 
being pursued iby great forces." One can well imagine 
how this unexpected news fell upon our anxious ears 
and minds in these dark days. After reading the dis- 
patch. General Hill made a short speech in which he paid 
deserved tribute to the fallen President and said to us, 
"That while we were prisoners of war, he did not look 
upon us as assassins, that he knew that there were ex- 
cellent men before him, who in their hearts condemned 
this act, as he did." He forbade any expression or demon- 
stration in any way of joy over this death by the prison- 
ers ; forbade any gathering in groups over the campus for 
conversation ; ordered that the lights must be turned out 
promptly at 8 o'clock — at the tap of the drum — and said, 



316 History of Walton County. 

"If any of these orders were violated the guards on the 
wall were directed to fire into the violators." Every man 
of us went straight to his own place — to his own block. 

A Tragedy Averted in Block No. 11. 

When we of block No. 11 were seated in quietude for 
a moment, those who seemed to have taken in the situa- 
tion more clearly and understood Abraham Lincoln, 
Andy Johnson and those in charge of the affairs of the 
government best, engaged in an undertone discussion of 
our situation. Some said in substance, of Abraham Lin- 
coln, on that occasion, what President Jefferson Davis 
said of him years afterwards. One said in substance. 
"The assassination of President Lincoln last night, next 
to the surrender of General Lee, was the worst blow the 
South has ever had. Had Lincoln lived and our cause 
failed, as it seems it must, no man would have dealt more 
justly with our people than he. He was one of the best of 
men, had a good pure heart in him. All of his public 
documents ring with the milk of human kindness, and 
none of them are burdened with the abuse of a single 
Southern man, not even his great Gettysburg speech. I 
often meditate on his two inaugural addresses, their 
honest pleadings, so plain and so earnest, so clear and 
fair, his conscientious convictions of duty. "You have no 
oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, 
while I have the most sacred one to preserve, protect 
and defend it." Such are some of his plain earnest plead- 
ings, and it gives me pain to know that he is gone, and 
see the government go into the hands of others who are, 
and always have been, full of hate for the South. An- 
other said, "I know Andy Johnson well, personally, and 



The Lotus Land. 317 

you will find none of this vindictive spirit in him, he too, 
is kind hearted and forgiving, and would prove a friend 
to the South, and I would as lief have him as Lincoln." 
And yet another spoke up in muffled tones and said, "He 
may be all this, but he will never stand in with his party, 
he will have no power nor influence, the South will be 
sure to suffer under his administration. You will not 
find in him that bold, kind, conscientious, high toned 
Christian gentleman that we would have had in Mr. Lin- 
coln ; his death at this time, is the greatest slam that 
could have come on us. It may be the cause of our hav- 
ing to remain in this prison for a year or two and I think 
it well for us — the prisoners on this island — to come to- 
gether and make a public expression of sorrow for his 
death." The bold, reckless Capt, Wilson sat quietly lis- 
tening to all these commendations. I could see him 
swelling up all the while. This was more than he could 
stand. He jumped upon his feet with his eyes sparkling 
with fire, with his finger pointing to those who had been 
doing the talking and said in no suppressed tones, "Why 
men, I am astonished at you, surprised at your syco- 
phancy. At such obsequious, cringing sympathy as you 
express it here, you could not have said more in praise, or 
expressed more sympathy for our own President Davis 
had he been killed last night (a whispering voice said, 
close to the door, "You don't understand.)" "I do under- 
stand, I have listened to every word said, I have been here 
longer than any of you — since the fall of Fort Pillow — ^and 
am willing to stay here ten times that long for the work 
of last night. I am shedding no tears, I am glad." A 
voice said, "Captain, please don't speak so loud, you know 
our orders?" "Yes, I heard them, what do I care for 
their bullets? Let them shoot. There are some of us 



318 History of Walton County. 

here who had rather be shot down and die here, than 
to live to go home and withstand that reeking revenge- 
ful hate that has ever burned in the hearts of these syco- 
phants in power." (A watch was put on the outside of 
the door to report the approach of any Federal.) Sev- 
eral of his friends gathered around him insisting that 
he would not talk so loud, but with little effect. "Where 
is that conscientious observance of his oath recorded in 
heaven when he swore he would protect the constitution 
and then freed by proclamation all the slaves in the 
South before he had been in ofhce three years? And 
too, when he said, 'I will not interfere with slavery where 
it exists in the States.' " A voice said, "But you don't 
understand this freeing of the negroes." "Yes, I do, but 
I can't understand how he could have been such a Chris- 
tian saint as you would have him be, and then find him 
at such times as these, sitting up with his family in a 
special box in the most popular theatre in the Capital 
City. Don't you think if he had been such an one as 
you would have him be, it would have been more befit- 
ting for him to have been at home on his knees in his 
closet, or bowed with his family around the home altar, 
asking his God for wisdom to help him deal justly with 
our overpowered suffering people?" (The man outside 
keeping watch at the door reports that the officer is com- 
ing with guard to be mounted for the night. Every man 
is on his feet, some indifferent, a few with the nod of 
approval, others anxious, all in the end agreeing that 
enough had been said at that time, that we were in dan- 
ger of being fired into, that the retaliating, revengeful 
spirit that obtained in the minds of the army at that 
time, would make them too ready and anxious for an 
occasion to fire into us and this was evidenced a few 



The Lotus Land. 319 

nights later when our block was fired into, when there 
was a little delay in turning off the lights at the tap of 
the drum. Capt. Wilson's friends quieted him down, beg- 
ging in behalf of the dear defenseless home ones — moth- 
ers and children — to desist. So a tragedy was barely 
averted and there were no more eulogies passed in our 
block on either Mr. Lincoln or Mr. Johnson while Capt. 
Wilson remained there, but he was among the very first 
to go. Time rolled on making history fast outside. 
They began to administer the amnesty oath and sending 
us to our homes in the order of our capture. Walton's 
prisoners were among the very last to go from our prison. 
On the 14th of July we left on the steamer for Sandusky 
City. The day was so hot, no wind blowing, so we came 
near being suffocated with heat along the very same 
route we liked to have frozen, walking and crawling over 
the ice, six months before. We came over on Saturday 
evening, had to stop over in the city until Monday. I 
went to the Presbyterian Church — was received kindly. 
In passing through Dayton, Ohio, the home of Valand- 
ingham — we were detained there some time. I asked 
one who came up to where we were if Mr. Valanding- 
ham was in town? He answered abruptly: "We don't 

keep the run of such d d rascals as he." I replied, 

"We love such Ohioans as he and S. S. Cox." He an- 
swered back : "I would suppose so." When we reached 
Louisville, Ky., the good ladies of that town had tables 
spread and sumptuously fed the hungry Confederate sol- 
diers as they passed on daily from their prisons to their 
homes, and when the whistle blew for starting, they 
placed themselves automatically at the car steps with 
open pocket books and as each soldier entered, plac^ a 
piece of silver money in their hand to help them on home. 



330 History of Walton County. 

"God bless the good ladies in our Southland" went up 
from every lip. Forty-five miles of the railroad track 
was destroyed north of Atlanta. That distance had to 
be made through sand, heat and dust. From Eufaula, 
Ala., we had to make our way through the country, but 
we found relatives and friends to help us on home. Oh. 
what endearing words, home, mother, father, sister, broth- 
er, relative, friend ! How they do stir our hearts, loom 
up in our minds after the turmoil of war is over, with our 
backs turned on isolated prisons when every step brings 
us nearer and nearer to them. At home! All of us at 
home. Brought safely through all the phases incident 
to a bloody cruel civil war. Who can express the joy, 
the gladness, the gratitude of such a home coming. 
When one spoke to my father about the war robbing 
him, he would always say "No. it was my children that 
were robbed, I have enough to do me as long as I want 
to live. Really, it was Angus Gillis. John Morrison, 
Mrs. Daniel G. McLean and persons like these who lost 
their sons who were robbed. 

Walton Hears News of Surrender Beneath Historic Oak. 

In the closing days of the war the mail service was 
very irregular and unreliable on account of deserters 
that roamed up and down the Choctawhatchie river and 
bay. These would meet the postman in crossing the 
river, or on the highway as it suited them and they would 
rifle the mail bags, taking what would profit or interest 
them. In the last days the mails were carried from Old 
Knox Hill to Marianna by private arrangements. The 
mail pouches were never under lock and key. These 
were no barriers along this route. Friends in Marianna 
would take out the m.ost important matters and have 
the carrier secure it about his person or saddle and 





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KENNETH McCASKILL. 



The Lotus Land. 321 

friends at Knox Hill would do the same on return to 
Marianna. Mr. Newton, when he first came to the Hill, 
among his first transplanting of trees, replanted a nice 
oak in rear of the Academy, in the boys playground, 
outside of the back gate. This noble oak was the boys 
"Home Base Tree." It grew through all these years to 
be a great oak, spreading its branches out in every direc- 
tion, offering a most delightful and profound shade for 
a cool rest on the top of this high hill. It was here in 
these last days, beneath these hospitable shades, that the 
old Valley Scotchmen and sometimes the anxious moth- 
ers and daughters, would come once a week in the even- 
ing time, and lounge about on the green sward beneath 
the shades of this generous oak tree, with throbbing 
hearts and with anxious eyes running down the stretches 
toward the East, to catch the first glimpse of the post- 
man coming up the hill with his good or evil tidings from 
the front. One evening as these McLeans, McPhersons, 
McKenzies, McDonalds, Campbells, Douglasses, Gunns, 
Rays and others from a distance, among whom was Dr. 
Charles McKinnon, a surgeon of the Confederate army 
at home in Mossy Bend on furlough — all stood be- 
neath these shades, the postman rode up, handed over 
the mail pouch, and while they sat around examining 
this mail matter, he dismounted, took his knife from his 
pocket, ripped open a small sack that was neatly and 
securely placed between two of his saddle cloths, took 
a newspaper from it and passed it on to these gentlemen, 
saying, "This paper Judge Bush in Marianna placed here, 
and charged me 'that I see that you get it.' " The paper 
was handed over to Dr. McKinnon who was requested 
to read it aloud. He read in a full distinct voice as fol- 
lows: "General Lee Has Surrendered — Our Cause Lost." 



322 History of Walton County. 

He read on to the end, with the editor's comments. When 
through the paper fell from his hands to the ground, and 
they all sat, with heads down for several moments, as 
silent as Jobs' comforters. Dr. McKinnon lifts his head, 
the silence is broken by his exclaiming: "Gentlemen, we 
as a Southern people are politically, irredeemably damn- 
ed !" Some may claim that he said the wrong thing when 
he did speak, as did Job's comforters, when they broke 
their silence, but in the dark bitter days of reconstruction, 
we thought how very advisedly he had spoken on that sad 
occasion. Within the boundary lines that inscribe the 
territory that makes up the Walton of today, she sent out 
four infantry companies and one cavalry company under 
Capt. J. B. Hutto. Besides these, she furnished many 
men for other companies, and when the necessities de- 
manded, she raised a full sized infantry company made 
up of old men and boys — "The Home Guard" — and 
armed them with the same guns that she sent out her 
first company with — "The Walton Guards." These were 
commanded by Capt. John Gillis, an elder in the Pres- 
byterian Church in the Valley. These did excellent ser- 
vice in the closing months of the war among the thiev- 
ing deserters. Walton sent out more men in proportion 
to her population than any other county and our State 
sent out more in proportion to her population than any 
other State. 



The: Lotus Land. 323 



Chapter XLVIL 



Walton's Soldiers at Home. 

The war at the front is over and all of Walton's sol- 
diers whose lives had been spared are at home. But 
they find it far from being over in the rear — along our 
sea coast line. They find a reflex influence along this 
line, a cloud hanging over them that beglooms the joy of 
their home coming. The Federal raids through west 
Florida that were so cruel and devastating, were not to 
be compared with these deserters' night grabbing raids. 
They commenced concentrating in West Florida and 
South Alabama with headquarters in Walton more than 
a year before the war closed, committing high-handed 
outrages all over this region. They got to doing so 
badly that some Mississippi cavalry had to come in after 
and were more depredating than ever. They secreted 
themselves near Dr. A. D. McKinnon's home at night 
and shot him down ; thinking he was dead they ran off 
leaving his wife alone with her little children and negro 
servants. She had to send a negro man twenty-five 
miles for a doctor. This gang made a raid in the day 
time on Elba, Ala., and were killed, routed and wounded, 
those that escaped in the streets and fled to the bay were 
overtaken, brought out and hung. A boy — Frank Bul- 
lard — stood behind a China tree in the streets of Elba 
and killed two of these on horseback, when he was only 
fourteen years old. Clark commanded this gang and was 
the man that ordered Dr. McKinnon shot, and before he 
was hung he confessed and said, "I don't know why I 



324 History of Walton County. 

ordered him killed unless the devil was in me." They 
agreed with him that it was the devil and swung him up. 
Rhodes with his lieutenant, Dick Kerlee, moved on the 
home of Kenneth McCaskill in the Valley — father of 
our J. J. McCaskill. Before they entered the house Ken- 
neth and his young son, John J., escaped in the grove 
with their double barreled guns and fired on them in the 
dark. John loading while his father shot at them. Final- 
ly Kerlee said to Mrs. McCaskill, "If you don't make 
your husband quit shooting us, I will fire the house." 
Kenneth said, "Set it on fire ! It will make a better light 
to shoot by." Then they broke for their horses and they 
turned loose on them with both barrels of each gun, 
wounding Kerlee and two of the others. McCaskill cried 
to them as they ran for life, "I will get you yet !" They 
had nothing but little shot to shoot them with. At the 
close of the war in the days of settling down and cleaning 
up the raiders, Kenneth was chosen captain or leader of 
the regulating band in bringing back stolen property and 
the like. And about the first thing he did, was to make 
his word good to Kerlee. He came up with him at his 
home, put a rope around his neck, put him in a wagon, 
drove between the two gate posts, tied the rope to the 
cross piece and drove from under him leaving him swing- 
ing in the air. He then put the rope around his father- 
in-law and got him in the wagon and ready to drive 
from under him, when his age and the pleadings of those 
around, touched his heart and he spared his life, telling 
him "Quit your meanness." The people in the Valley 
hearing that he was spared said, "What a pity, what a 
pity !" Those who know nothing of the threats and do- 
ings of these raiders in the Valley and surrounding coun- 
try may think this cruel, but it was the only thing to do 




JOHN J. McCASKILL. 



The Lotus Land. 325 

to down them ; and those who know nothing of the in- 
wardness of this Old Scotch Pioneer, may look upon 
him, as having been a stern, hard-hearted man, full of 
revenge in dealing with these desperate raiding desert- 
ers in putting them in and keeping them in their places, 
but he was one of our most peaceable citizens, a kind- 
hearted, sympathetic, loving husband and father, ever 
ready to lend a helping hand where help was needed. He 
followed all his days the simple farm life, looking after 
his stock and home. Raised up a large family of sons 
and daughters on his Valley farm. After the close of 
the civil war. his son, J. J. McCaskill. like many other 
young men struck out to developing the dormant re- 
sources of Walton. With unbridled energy he plunged 
into her timber with mills, boats and a mercantile busi- 
ness and has gotten more out of it than any other man 
has, leaving the lands in a better condition for farming 
than they were at the first. These East Alabama de- 
serters came down and raided Mossy Bend. Some of 
the men, and women, dressed in men's clothing, came to 
Capt. J. B. Hutto's near Euchee Anna and robbed his 
home of everything, leaving his sick wife without a 
mouthful to eat, and she with eight little children, two 
of them twins two months old. Rhoad's gang came to 
Angus Gillis's in L'. S. uniform and took ofif loads of 
bedding and provisions : he recognized several of them 
as some of his neighbors disguised and they came the 
next day and abused the ones that did the robbing; and 
yet they dared not tell them that they knew that it was 
themselves that did it ; but there did come a day when 
they told them of it, and they had to bring back the 
stolen property. My brother A. D. McKinnon and I 
went after some of ou-: stolen property over Boggy bayou 



326 History of Walton County. 

and thought we were going to have trouble. We did 
have trouble in East Alaibama, the stronghold of the 
raider band, had to take a yoke of oxen by force from 
one of them. He swore he would come up with us when 
he was armed and we were unarmed. He got his band 
together and followed us twenty-five miles. Providen- 
tially, we got to Campbellton, Fla., and were safe before 
they could overtake us. Sure enough three or four 
months after this he came with three more armed men 
on me unarmed at Freeport, Fla., but again, providential- 
ly, I met them, and overcame them, and sent them back 
home. The first raid that came into Walton under Federal 
authority was something on the order of these deserters' 
raids. A dash in the night time, a grabbing of things 
easily carried off, and the taking of things that a decent 
company would not bother. In fact it was headed by 
deserters from our army who had been officered by the 
Federal government. Capt. Joe Carrol, who went to 
school with us at Knox Hill, a pleasant social fellow, but 
without a bit of character. He surrounded Col. McKin- 
non's house in the night time, after killing the guard 
dogs, took his wounded son, Alex. D., who was at home 
on crutches — all the spoils he could gather in the house — 
one wagon load — a horse and buggy, the wounded pris- 
oner — two negro men on the Colonel's fine horses, and 
two negro women in the wagon. Carrol answered, to 
some extent, for this raid after the war. 



The Lotus Land. 337 



Chapter XLVIIL 

The Ashboth Raid. 

General Ashboth, an old Hungarian, left the Pensacola 
Navy Yard on his raid through Walton and intervening 
counties to Marianna on September 21st, handed his 
steamer and troops of horsemen and infantry on the 
East shore of East bay, marched through that unfre- 
quented, desolate country and on the 22nd he came to 
the home of Lafayette Cawthon's, took him and brother. 
That night he camped on the grounds where the Cha- 
tauqua Auditorium in DeFuniak Springs now stands. 
On the 23rd he came to Euchee Anna, camped there with 
his headquarters at the home of Giles Bowers. On the 
24th he sent a squad to take the Euchee Anna prisoners 
and those that he had gathered up on his way, to Free- 
port where he had his steamer to meet them and carry 
them across the bay to Point Washington, to meet him on 
his return from Marianna. While at Euchee Anna he 
sent out squads of men into the country gathering up the 
old men and boys and putting them in the little old two- 
story hewn log jail. He sent out some of his negro 
troops that acted disgracefully. He sent a Captain with 
a squad of white men and negroes to the home of Col. 
McKinnon south of Euchee Anna, three miles away. 
These made a clean sweep of negroes, horses, mules, 
oxen, turkeys, chickens, corn, meat and everything they 
could find to eat. The wagons were driven in front of 
the big "smoke house" door and were loaded with bacon 
and beef as long as it would lie on them, they dug up 
the big lard barrels out of the ground and placed them 



328 History of Walton County. 

on the wagons. Other wagons were being loaded at the 
cribs with corn, peas and fodder. They did not leave a 
single thing to eat for the family. In passing through 
the house for booty the Captain spied a large sword 
hanging on the wall and here occurred the episode of the 
sword given by Miss Brevard in her history of Florida. 
They did not ask the negroes if they wanted to go, they 
ordered them to hitch up the teams and make ready to go. 
They took all of them save Aunt Harriet that had been 
the wife of Jim Crow, Indian Chief of the Euchees, her 
youngest daughter, little yellow Flora, a house girl of 
15 years and little George, these gave them the dodge. 
When they had all gone, one of my sisters and Aunt 
Harriet followed them a little ways to learn which road 
they had gone and to see if they could learn any thing 
of a sick brother that was at home and had spent the night 
with a neighbor. They had gone but a little ways before 
they found a big side of Ibacon that they could not lift. 
Then they saw the brother coming, who had been beck- 
oned away from the dangers at the house by one of the 
negro men at the lot. With his help the meat was taken 
home. Father and mother made glad for the safety of 
their sick son. Our dear sick mother said, "It could have 
been so much worse." Buzzing quiet and cutting sad- 
ness reigned supreme around our once dear happy home 
and the busy, hilarious negro quarters. Ears of corn 
wasted in loading were gathered by the brother, carried 
to the grist mill, ground into meal and this and the side 
of meat made the meals for the family and for the sick 
mother until the milch cows that thought to stay away, 
came home. Mr. Alex. Johnson, a neighbor of the Colo- 
nel's sent him a nice mare to ride around. In a little 
while the deserters took her. This raid left an old 



The Lotus Land. 329 

broken down horse, a stack of bones. He would not fat- 
ten, but when rested was full of life. He was called 
"Old Abe" and was a good saddler and woods horse. 
He was kept in the pasture the most of the time. The 
deserters could not bridle him. He was not tempting 
to them. They sent a squad of men to the Misses Mc- 
Donalds, two miles south of Euchee Anna, to take their 
sick brother, Archibald L. McDonald. They surrounded 
the house before they knew that they were there. His 
sisters lifted one of the floor planks and let him slip 
through into the clay hole in front of the chimney, made 
in taking clay out to build the chimney with, it was a 
large double pen-split log house with hall running 
through it. When they made a search of the house and 
found he had eluded them, they stopped there the most of 
that day and night living on their chickens and eggs, 
shooting the chickens down in the yard and over Archy 
in the hole. Fortunately the chickens were as scared of 
Archy in the hole as they were of the Yankees with their 
guns, and would never stop near the hole, but on the oppo- 
site side from the Yankee. But when they went to leave, 
they made a clean sweep of ducks, turkeys and chickens, 
and in shooting an old rooster over Archy under the 
house, they only wounded him and he flopped and jumped 
about under there and Archy thought every minute he 
would be on him in the hole, but before he got in Mr. 

Yank crawled under and got him, saying "D n you, 

I have got you !" His sisters thought they had Archy. 
When this band left with their booty, the sisters lifted 
the plank and let Archy out, and his black hair was about 
as gray as it is today. He, only, can describe the sus- 
pense in that hole when the bullets were flying over him, 
and the wounded rooster flopping and jumping toward 
him. 



330 History of Walton County. 

Euchee Anna Prison. 

These are some of the names of those who were 
crowded in that little prison and kept in there a night 
and a part of two days : The Bowerses, McLeans, Mc- 
Callums, Kay, Col. George W. Walker, a Kentuckian by 
birth and the Campbells. Dr. D. L. Campbell of De 
Funiak was of them. It will interest you to hear him 
give a description of the prison life there, especially that 
pertaining to Col. Walker who was a wonderful char- 
acter in this country, an uncompromising Union man, the 
very soul of character, tall, lean, straight with eagle pierc- 
ing eyes. Never spoke but with emphasis and positive- 
ness. Was a great smoker of the pipe, walking up and 
down the floor while he smoked, in deep thought. He 
was respected and admired by all Waltonians. Crowded 
in this little prison without pipe and no room to walk 
up and down ; his noble pet horse, his best companion, 
taken from him; the doctor says in this nervous, irri- 
table condition he broke loose with such invectives as 
he had never heard before from him, winding up every 

speech with. "The U. S. has come to a d d low pass 

when she had to pick up this dirty old foreigner, this 
d d Hungarian hog to command her armies, to slob- 
ber over decent people!" This scene and treatment made 
a strong Southern sympathizer of him. Never more did 
curses fall from his lips on secessionists. Before leaving 
Euchee Anna the General had these prisoners drawn up 
in line in the bottom between Bowers' and the town. 
He rode up and down on Col. McKinnon's fine pacing 
stallion that Carrol had stolen and taken to him, then 
rode off leaving them standing there in suspense not 
knowing whether they would have to go to Fort Pickens 
or not, but he had already culled out those he would 




ANGUS C. DOUGLASS. 



The Lotus Land. 33 i 

send there. After a while they all broke ranks and went 
to their homes. The army went on to Marianna by 
Angus GilHs/ taking- negroes, mules and horses and 
everything they could find to eat. They passed out of 
Walton and through Holmes, leaving a black trail be- 
hind them and on to Marianna and back to their steamer 
at Point Washington and then down to Fort Pickens 
with their prisoners. We will let the State publicist tell 
of them there. It was this last Yankee raid that put a 
new devil and new energy in the organized deserters and 
they had no common sense to back them. The most of 
their skilled leaders were killed out. So these fool raid- 
ers, who came to feel that the "bottom rail was on top" 
to stay, and every thing had to go their way, had to be 
attended to without gloves, teaching those that stole, 
must steal no more, and that stolen property must be re- 
turned to the proper owners. There was neither law 
nor order in the country. The leader of the gang that 
robbed the Mossy Bend people was overtaken and a 
rope had to be placed around his neck and thrown over 
a limb before he would point out the stolen goods or tell 
who were his accomplices. After disclosing and being 
released, he sent to Gen'l. Ashboth and reported his treat- 
ment, who promised that he would send up a company 
of negro soldiers, have the offenders arrested and brought 
down to him and placed in Fort Pickens. The citizens 
were deeply moved by this threat, remembering the dep- 
redations and outrages committed by some of his negro 
troops when he was stationed at Euchee Anna on his raid. 
They call a mass meeting of the citizens and select a 
committee of old men ; Capt. Berry, father of Rev. George 
Berry, John Morrison, Giles Bowers, Wesley Bowers, 
Angus Douglass and one young man, J. L. McKinnon, Jr. 



332 History of Walton County. 



Chapter XLIX. 

Committee Sent. 

On reaching the Navy Yard the committee consulted 
as to what we would say and as to how we would say 
it. It was the consensus of opinion that nothing harsh 
was to be said. I was chosen to do the talking. We 
went into his office and were met at the outer door by 
his orderly. I said to him, "We are a delegation from 
Walton County who want to have an interview with the 
General." He was gone but a little while when he re- 
turned and ushered us into the General's presence. A 
great big bungling, rough looking fellow with his head 
all bound around with wide strips of white cloth, through 
which the mollifying salves on his wounds had pene- 
trated and were running down the furrows on his red 
cheeks. I introduced myself and the other gentlemen. 
We were given seats around the table. I stated our mis- 
sion in full, giving facts as they were. He flew all to 
pieces, spoke in a rage through his broken English for 
quite a while insultingly. He said in part : "You of the 
South gathered yourselves together and tried to destroy 
the best government in the world, and the world showed 
you that you couldn't do it. I came across the waters 
to help the good people of the North over here to guar- 
antee freedom to the poor negro and look here (pointing 
to his wounded head) what you rebellious people did for 
me at Marianna while trying to free them ; this may yet 
be the giving of my life for the freedom of this poor 



The Lotus Land. 333 

abused race (this poor(?) old hypocrite did die of his 
wounds in a little while and we could but rejoice at the 
news.) You must not put ropes around my men's necks 
in any such threatening manner, who, when they saw 
they were wrong, fled to me for protection and to stand 
by and help me to lift the ropes from off the necks of 
their poor oppressed brothers in black." My young heart 
surged within me, so did the old men's at such vain talk. 
When we knew, too, if the old hypocrite had been such 
a patriot and humanitarian as he would have us believe, 
he could have found subjects in countries nearer his 
home, in greater need than in ours. But we did not dare 
speak a word of this in our contentions if we hoped to 
gain anything by our interview. When he let up a little 
so that I could put in a word I said, "General, the war 
is over. I have just returned from a Northern prison. 
I have taken the amnesty oath and am as much a citizen 
of the U. S. as the President. I have sworn to obey and 
protect the Constitution and laws of the U. S. and mean 
to do it. We have no Governor, no officer of the law, 
and therefore the laws can't be strictly executed in our 
county. I told him what the deserters were claiming, 
threatening and doing up there, how they were trying 
to stir up our quiet satisfied negroes. Called his atten- 
tion to the assaulted mother and daughter living north 
of Euchee Anna, who came to his headquarters while there 
and made complaint to him about the treatment of two 
of his negro soldiers, one a Corporal, the other a Ser- 
geant, in his army. That they were able, readily to iden- 
tify them, yet they went unpunished. That the negro 
bucks up there were treating it as a good practical joke 
and that the deserters up there were using this to put 
the very devil in them. I showed him what a curse it 



334 History of Walton County. 

would entail on the community up there if he stationed 
negro troop in that section ; that it could but bring the 
saddest results of shame and death, and that I did not 
believe U. S. government would tolerate such abuses, 
and if they were sent up there the committee would go 
right on to Washington and carry the whole matter be- 
fore President Johnson. I showed that this man com- 
plaining was a deserter from both armies and had been 
a raiding deserter for more than a year. All this made 
him think. It was evident he did not want to be re- 
ported to President Johnson with the proof of his in- 
difference at Euchee Anna. When he learned of a truth 
that the man complaining was a double deserter and 
raider, he calmed down and the interview ended by his 
promising us that he would send no troops at all up, and 
asked us that we would assist him in keeping order up 
there and he would help us. We bid him good-bye — 
went home and made our people proud with our success. 
Things had pretty well settled down when the hanging 
of the negro at Knox Hill happened and some of the 
negroes called on General Ashboth and he sent up a com- 
pany of white and one of negro troops, stationing them 
at Euchee Anna. We knew that their coming was in- 
evitaible and made no effort to stay it. Some of the Knox 
Hill boys got out of the way. I remained at home as 
though nothing had happened. The second morning af- 
ter the day they camped at Euchee Anna, an officer with 
a little squad of men hailed at our front gate. A servant 
(girl answered. I was up stairs, heard them ask her if 
the younger John L. McKinnon was at home. She told 
them I was. They told her to tell him that he was 
wanted at the gate. I reported at once. (I think he 
was surprised, thought I had gotten out of the way.) 



The Lotus Land. 335 

The Captain introduced himself as Capt. Merry of Com- 
pany — and introduced those with him. I asked them 
to dismount and come in. He said, 'T am up here in- 
vestigating the hanging of that negro at Knox Hill some 
time ago and learn that you were connected with it, and 
we want to know what you have to say about it?" I 
said again, "Dismount, come into the house and I will 
tell you all I know about it." We all went in and when 
seated in the parlor the Captain said, "Now, we wish 
you to give us a full statement of the whole affair?" I 
did this and told him there never had been in all the days 
of slavery an attempt at such a deed, and that I veritably 
believed that it was that unpunished crime above Euchee 
Anna that General Ashboth let go without a notice, that 
moved that boy to this awful deed. That I had known 
the boy all his life ; that he belonged to a near relative 
of mine and all this made it hard for me to deal with 
him as we did. That we had no officers or law and we 
knew by the cases mentioned that we could hope for no 
help from Gen. Ashboth, if we went to him with cases 
of this sort; that the protection of our mothers, sisters 
and neighbor women, demanded of us that this incar- 
nate brute should not go at large and that we could see 
no other way out of it, but to do just as we did, and 
under the same condition we don't see how we could do 
differently now. I was glad to hear him say, "Neither 
can L" After asking me a few questions pertaining to 
the mattter, that I answered promptly, he said, "I believe 
every word you say. Much that you have told is cor- 
rdborated by statements from some of the older and bet- 
ter negroes in that settlement." We had them to stop 
and take dinner with us for which they showed apprecia- 
tion. He was a fine looking gentleman with a kind open 



336 History of Walton County. 

face. When leaving he said, "I will keep strict control 
over these negro troops while here and if they bother 
you over here I will stop them." We were good friends 
while he stopped here. This was the winding up of 
Federal troops in old Walton. 



The Lotus Land. 337 



Chapter L. 



Reclaiming Property and Settling Deserters. 

The endangering of life, the time spent in the gather- 
ing up and restoring stolen property to the proper own- 
ers, the settling down and keeping the roving raiders in 
their proper places amounted to but little commercially, 
but from a moral, social standpoint we see them as 
teachers, pregnant with great lessons in character build- 
ing. This severe handling had to be resorted to; they 
could not be reformed or put in, or kept in their proper 
places by other process. They soon learned that if the 
South did fail in the great struggle at arms, surren- 
dering them, if she had acknowledged her armies over- 
powered and accepted the arbitrament of the Union 
Sword that she struggled against, there was no surren- 
der of character, no cringing humility, no acknowledge- 
ment of dishonor, no obsequious words of apology for 
anything that had been said or done, to any body, any 
State or government. She did the very best she could 
against odds to establish what she believed to be an 
ideal government ; and her people were just as honest, 
just as conscientious then and now, in doing this, as the 
Northern statesmen and soldiers felt that they were 
right in hindering it. They believed as truly, that they 
had a moral and legal right to withdraw from the Union 
and establish their Confederate government, as our fore- 
fathers believed they had a right to withdraw from the 
British government and establish this Republic. The 
bellum situation in Walton having been leveled up and 



338 History of Walton County. 

men settled down in their proper spheres; her young sol- 
diery came together and discussed commercial problems 
under the post-bellum regime. Instead of the two main 
anti-bellum industries — agricultural farming and stock 
raising — they found their Walton full of resources to de- 
velop. There is the ranging timber business, the log- 
ging business, steam saw mill building and operatings, 
sail and steam boat building and operatings, and the im- 
proved mercantile 'business on bay and rivers. Young 
men embarked in these enterprises with energy, honesty 
and succeeded in spite of political conditions, in spite of 
reconstruction outrages, because there was plenty of 
money loose in our country to develop its resources. 
The North was flooded with Lincoln's green-back money, 
the best money ever made ; the war closed, peace opened 
the doors that kept it shut in — money unrestrained by 
graft legislation — turned loose to be free — seeks and 
finds its level like water unrestrained finds its level. 
The "Aurora," a heavy timbered, thick planked, round 
knuckled, shallow draft, side wheel steamer — the first 
steam boat built in Walton — built at Freeport by "Mc- 
Kinnon Bros." for the trade between Pensacola, Fla. and 
Geneva, Ala., touching at the many intervening points 
along that route. She ran successfully there for four 
seasons, navigating the river in its natural state and com- 
ing out in the end alive, the only steamer that did before 
the "Government cleanout." She actually gave the river 
a pretty good "cleanout" before the government took 
hold. She found up this river, hanging on some of the 
worst snags, all of the anti-bellum steamers. "The 8th 
of January," the "Jullian," the "Mary Clifton," the "New 
Boston" as living warnings to all steamers who would 
dare to navigate these waters. The "Aurora" left these 




1. p. G. GUNN. 2. PROF. C. C. GUNN. S. COLIN C. GUNX. 



The Lotus Land. 339 

■waters to ply 'between Key West and Havana. In the 
beginning of the developing of these resources, condi- 
tions, politically, began to show up propitiously. Law 
and order began to assert their rights. Under the Lin- 
coln reconstruction regime, Walton is becoming her for- 
mer self, a State election is called, Hon. David S. Wal- 
ker, a near relative of Gol. George W. Walker, is elected 
Governor. Walton sends as her representatives in this 
post-bellum government, John Morrison, Daniel G. Gunn 
and John L. McKinnon, Jr. When the legislature met 
to inaugurate the newly elected Governor we found in 
the Executive chair that grand old man, Hon. Wm. Mar- 
vin, of N. Y., exercising the functions of provisional Gov- 
errior. He steps down nobly, Gov. Walker steps up 
gracefully, manfully. This legislative body was able to 
compete with any the State ever had. The State elected 
its representatives to Congress, the legislature their U. S. 
Senators who were never admitted Those in charge of 
the U. S. government at Washington were not in accord 
with Mr. Lincoln's plan of reconstruction. This newly 
organized, reconstructed State government enacted 
wholesome laws and moved on under a bright sky under 
the most flattering auspices. Yet in the very start there 
was a murmuring of dissatisfaction among the abolition 
fanatics, saying, "The negro has no voice in this new 
start, he must be enfranchised. 



340 History of Walton County. 



Chapter LI. 

The Carpetbag Negro Rule of Reconstruction. 

This State government under Gov. Walker moved on 
in peace and quiet and all is loyal, progressive and lovely 
for tw^o years. Then comes the reconstruction, negro 
rule that darkened the splendid azure sheen of our politi- 
cal and moral sky, a darkness as black as erebus, leaving 
a stain that permeated the inner nature so deep that it 
will require years and years to wipe out. Harrison Reed 
a carpetbagger, is our Governor. Not a mean man at 
heart, was an intelligent, a devout Presbyterian, but a 
weakling, pliable in the hands of ill designing men. 
Not like the carpetbaggers in the main, but they, with 
the negroes, were largely in the majority. Old Walton 
held her full white representatives through all the days 
of reconstruction, which meant something to her, and 
the State. Walton bounded as today, together with 
Santa Rosa, formerly a part of Walton, sent A. L. Mc- 
Caskill as their Senator. John L. McKinnon, Jr., D. L. 
McKinnon, George Berry and Angus McMillon as their 
representatives. Holmes, formerly a part of Walton 
with Washington, sent A. D. McKinnon as their Senator 
and W. F. Green and Thos. Hanner as their representa- 
tives. We stood as a solid phalanx working harmonious- 
ly together and with others through all those bitter days. 
One side of the legislative hall was crowded with black 
faces dotted about with a few white carpetbag faces scat- 
tered among them. Here as in the army and prison we 
were still taking lessons in patience or "just letting pa- 



The Lotus Land. 34 i 

tience have her perfect work." All sorts of subterfuges 
were resorted to by this mongrel crowd to carry out 
their plans, the story of these belong to the State to 
bring out. Just two incidents in which Walton figures 
in, are worthy of mentioning. To have the organization 
of the Senate what the vilest of them would have it, they 
had Senator McCaskill arrested taken before the U. S. 
court in Jacksonville for trial of a crime that they had 
not a cintilla of evidence of his guilt, and turned him 
loose, without a trial as soon as the Senate was organ- 
ized. After the death of their second Governor, Ossian 
B. Hart, a native Floridian, Marcellus L. Stearns became 
Governor. The matter of the reorganization of the 
House of Representatives was being considered. There 
was a breach between the majority of the negroes and 
the carpetbaggers. The negroes wanted to elect one of 
themselves Speaker and other attaches. The carpetbag- 
gers did not want a negro no more than we did, they 
wanted to elect Col. Martin Speaker. The house had for 
chaplain a great big ignorant, greasy black negro, with 
a big mouth that was always saying ugly, mean things. 
He was becoming more and more intolerable to our side 
of the House. While this breach was at its worst and 
the carpetbaggers in a dilemma, one of our friends at 
the R. R. Depot came up and told us that this Chaplain 
said in his hearing, while standing in the midst of a 
crowd of his fellows, and was cheered by them, 'T hope 
to see the day when I shall have the power to cut every 
slave-holder's throat from ear to ear!" This moved us 
to feelings of desperation. Threats of assassination and 
Kuklucking were being made. Walton's representative 
went to Speaker Stearns, told him what dangers were 
brewing and that something must be done quick to stay 



343 History of Walton County. 

it, or there would be serious, bloody trouble, that the 
whites would not put up with this man any longer and 
proposed to him that if they would give the white side 
of the house the Chaplain they would go with them and 
elect Col. Martin Speaker. The Governor was a one- 
armed Union soldier and Avanted to be fair, he said it was 
an outrage and must be remedied. He said if the whites 
would select some decent colored man that would be ac- 
ceptable, they would join in the proposition, but they 
would not be able to elect both Speaker and Chaplain 
without the help of the whites. We found Rev. Henry 
Call, now a citizen of DeFuniak, a decent colored man 
with some intelligence, who was acceptable to all, and 
we at once elected Martin Speaker and Call Chaplain 
and stayed a traged}^ ; the old Chaplain left town by re- 
quest for parts unknown. This little episode was fruit- 
ful for good in the afterwards. This kind of legislation 
went on, growing worse and worse from 1868 to 1877. 
Then the real white people raised up in all their might 
all over the State and said, "We can and must free our- 
selves from this negro-carpetbaggism. "George W. Drew 
was nominated for Governor. There was a mighty ef- 
fort put forth all over the State. Walton was in the 
forefront, all who could speak or exercise any influence 
went to work in earnest, early and late. Hon. A. L. 
McCaskill and I spoke in every precinct in Walton and 
many in Santa Rosa visited pretty much every home and 
saw that all white men were registered properly. The 
carpetbaggers followed close behind us with their best 
speakers in negro precincts, W. J. Purman. Hamelton 
and Dickson, with their headquarters at Marianna. were 
the campaigners through Walton. They made extrava- 



The Lotus Land. 343 

gant, rash promises to the negroes, reminding themselves 
no doubt of the old rhyme : 

"Much to promise and little to give 
Causes the fools in comfort to live." 

"The forty acres and the mule," was their leading 
promise to the end. The whites attended all of their 
meetings when they knew of them, and would take them 
up on their rash, foolish promises ; but they would hold 
secret, night meetings, and say things that they would 
not dare say in the presence of the whites. They were 
good speakers and educated as to books, but bankrupts 
as to character. They called an open advertised meet- 
ing at Euchee Anna in the open day time, pretty much 
every negro voter was there. This was called their 
"Grand Rally Meeting." The white voters were there 
in force, the meeting was held in the old courthouse in 
the southern part of the town. They had to be checked 
up several times in their extravagant statements. They 
lead us to believe they wanted their opponents to reply 
when they were through. But when they finished, they 
had a tacit understanding with the negroes to meet them 
for private instructions, and they went out in a body in 
the direction of the hotel where they had stopped, not by 
the street way, but direct through a grove that intervened, 
and when they were well in the grove and near the hotel 
they stopped. Hamilton, a tall, stout, rawboney man of 
fair complexion, light hair and 'blue eyes weighing about 
two hundred pounds, 38 years old, a college athlete in 
appearance, stood talking to the negroes as they gath- 
ered around him in the grove. The white voters w^ho 
moved on to the business part of town by the street way, 



344 History of Walton County, 

saw that he had stopped and was talking with the 
negroes. Bill Bell, a farmer from Knox Hill, a full 
match in build, weight, and years, for Hamilton, with 
dark complexion, black hair and dark eagle piercing eyes, 
said, "Men we have had enough of this today, and those 
negroes have had enough, let's go over there and send 
these rascals over the river and the negroes home, where 
they belong?" "All right" came from everybody. They 
walked up to the circle. Bell in the lead, while Hamil- 
ton was yet speaking. Bell with his right hand on the 
left shoulder of one negro, his left on the right of an- 
other, made a breach and enlarged the circle, walked right 
up in front of Hamilton and said in loud unmistakable 
tones, using severe ugly adjectives. "See here. Hamilton, 
these negroes have had enough of this stuff today, you 
are fixing them up to be put under the ground. You 
were allowed to say too much in yonder building, you 
can't sneak out here in these bushes and stir up the 
devil in them, and let me tell you right here, if you know 
what is best for you, you had better cross the river and 
crawl up in your hole." Hamilton straightened himself 
up boastingly with an air of bravery, and he was brave 
with his big crowd of negroes around him and said. "I 
am a free born American citizen exercising the right of 
free speech and don't want to be disturbed in this way." 
"You are." said Bell. "a. free born American jackass 
risking the dangers of a free fight !" "You are more of a 
jackass than I am," said Hamilton. As these words 
fell upon Bell's ears, he dealt a blow with his right fist 
directly in Hamilton's breast that staggered him. It was 
promptly returned and while these blows and fencings 
were flying swiftly there went up a cry from the white 
voters, "A fair fight, a fair fight!" They clenched each 



The Lotus Land. 345 

other then and went at it right. The negroes indiscrim- 
inately took to the woods, running pell-mell in every 
direction. Purman and their negro driver made for the 
hotel, got their horses and were ready on the ground in 
a little while to go for the river. Bell proved more than 
his equal in a clenched wrestle. Hamilton realizing his 
situation cried out, "Am I left alone, have they all de- 
serted me?" It was then the white voters laid hold on 
them, loosed their hold on each other, pulled them apart 
and there they stood unexhausted in front of each other, 
with their faces scratched a little, the greatest damage 
done being to their Sunday clothes. Hamilton got into 
the carriage with Purman and the negro driver and they 
went down the Douglass Ferry road, the negro driving 
with such flying speed through the sand and dust that 
flew so thick and high above their heads, that they were 
hid from view. When they got to the ferry it was night. 
They urged Mr. Campbell to help them across that night, 
that they might be safe. When they had told him what 
had befallen them that day at Euchee Anna, he told them 
that it would not be safe to try crossing the river at night 
and that he knew all of those men and would guarantee 
their safety with him that night, that all they wanted was 
for them to let the negroes alone. They stopped until 
morning in security and passed over the river, and that 
was the last of carpetbaggism in Walton. The most re- 
markable and creditable thing In this whole affair was, 
that there was neither knife or pistol drawn during the 
encounter, notwithstanding in these times, and on such 
occasions men went armed to the teeth. But it took 
more than this to drive them out of Marianna. It took 
the shooting up of Col. McClellan, the killing of his dear 
daughter, the most lovely, the most beautiful, innocent 



346 History of Walton County. 

and the most winsome of Marianna's fair daughters. 
This done, too, by black trained assassins, who took 
shelter under the great oak trees by the side walk and 
shot to death this sweet innocent daughter, as she sat 
on the veranda in the eveningtide, musing on the beau- 
ties in Nature — in sky and trees before her — and while 
her young heart dilated with the bright prospects 
just ahead, in the near future, when the incubus of 
reconstruction would be swept away. Think, too, 
she fell a lifeless corpse in the arms of her dear 
wounded father, who was not able to hold her up in that 
trying hour. This was not a Walton tragedy but we are 
constrained to mention it here, for there were Walton 
boys there who helped to avenge the heartless deed. 
Some time, someone, will tell Jackson County's dark 
story of carpetbag reign and do justice to this sad story. 
The "ides of March" comes — every white voter is in 
his place. Vehicles are provided and men ready to bring 
in the sick, the lame, the halt and the blind to the polls. 
Walton's full vote is cast. Other counties followed suit. 
Drew is elected Governor of Florida. There went up a 
shout from the land, "carpetbagism is stabbed to the 
heart and practically dead in Florida. Died, too, in the 
arms of the military and with 'but little sympathy from 
them." But it left its shame in our land that the blood 
of bulls and goats are not able to blot out. A shout of 
triumph went up to heaven, to Him to whom vengeance 
belongs. Oh, how well we remember unto this day the 
ear-splitting, joyful shout that rang throughout our fair 
State. This day of gladness, of promised peace in Wal- 
ton was far more gladsome, than the promised peace af- 
ter Appomattox that was so slow in coming. The lat- 
ter was a victory of the power of the sword over us. and 



The; Lotus Land. 347 

was grinding; the former a victory of the ballot over 
them and was jubilating. So these carpetbaggers, like 
the Arabs, folded their tents and silently stole away, 
leaving us alone with our affairs. The gates of Janus 
shut. The people rejoice. Men having a mind to 
work, worked. Money unrestrained by legislation, in 
the hands of the common people, moves around crown- 
ing every honest effort of the laborer with success. Wal- 
ton's people were never more prosperous in their efforts 
to develop her resources than they were in the first two 
decades that followed the close of the war. Their energy 
in developing her resources had but to beckon to this un- 
restrained capital, when it came and was satisfied, and 
they enriched. But in the midst of this prosperity and 
satisfaction among the masses there went up a howl, 
"There is too much money in circulation !" This howl 
did not come from the laborers, the soldiers that bore 
the brunt of the Union Army, neither did it come from 
the Confederates that lost all, nor from the farmer or 
any manual laborer. It started in London, was caught 
up in Wall Street, heralded by the bankers, corporation- 
ist and was answered by paid congressional representa- 
tives. 



318 History of Walton County. 



Chapter LI I. 

Sorrow and Progress. 

But with all these advantages and good cheer it seems 
in the Divine plan not to let Walton rest too securely 
too long in this cheering work lest she might become too 
proud, too much elated, overjoyed. Two brutish negroes, 
Streeter and Monk, came down the river from Alabama 
and in the early night time entered the store of McKin- 
non and McCullough at Freeport. to rob it. While Monk 
kept watch outside Streeter entered with club and most 
brutally clu'bbed to death Ezery Moore, their clerk, a 
noble young man, the friend of every body. Streeter only 
found fifty cents, escaped through a window leaving his 
bloody tracks behind him. He was pursued by great 
forces, captured above Geneva, Ala., and brought back 
to Freeport. Monk was captured on the ground. They 
both had a trial, acknowledged guilt, and were put to 
death. Greed for money tempts men to risk their lives, 
throw away their characters and lose their souls. Oh, 
what a price these poor brutes paid for that fifty cents 
that they were never permitted to spend ! This bold, 
open, bloody tragedy, on a good inoffensive young man, 
stirred the women of Walton as nothing else ever had. 
They shuddered with fear for the safety of their homes 
and persons. In 1875 the U. S. government called for 
bids to put steam mail service between Freeport and Pen- 
sacola touching at intermediate points, for twice each 
week, for four years. The writer was the successful 
bidder. He went to New Orleans, purchased a commo- 



The Lotus Land. 349 

dious little steamship adapted to the work. She was 
put on the line of work and made successful trips. 
Captain John Watson was the master of her in the 
last years, a worthy young man, faithful to duty; no 
curses or strong drink ever passed his lips. He was 
an excellent steamboat manager, giving satisfaction 
to all. As he turned into Point Washington one 
night the steamer's new boilers blew up, killing him. 
He died at Point Washington a few hours later. He had 
a barge in tow and a lot of passengers ; he and they were 
placed on board of barge and poled into the Point. This 
sad news was broken to me just as I was getting out of 
bed early on the Sabbath morning. I shall never forget 
the shock of this sad news. My first thought was to go 
and carry the news to his young wife and children. I 
started, went a little ways, and found that I was not 
equal to the task. I turned back and had some of our 
tenderhearted ladies to go with their soft words and 
break the sad news to her. I turned and went in haste 
with others and brought the body home. It was in the 
gloaming of that holy day when we reached his home. 
His weeping wife 'who exclaimed, "Oh, that he could 
but look natural as in other days !" The next day we 
laid him at rest in the cemetery. After all these years 
that have gone, this event is just as fresh in my mind as 
it was on that sad day. How it must have lingered in 
the mind and probed the heart of the wife and mother, 
all these vears in her reticent widowhood. 



350 History of Walton County. 

FIFTH LPOCH. 
Chapter LI 1 1. 

The Projection of the P. and A. Rail Road. 

What the Civil War lacked in stirring up and scat- 
tering abroad those of the old Scotch Valley people from 
their well made nests, the P. and A. Division of the L. 
and N. R. R. about accomplished. It acted as though it 
was a great bomb shell dropped down in the midst of the 
Valley, crushing, rooting up and driving the old Scotch 
settlers in every direction, leaving only enough there for 
seed. We trust this stirring up and driving away, was 
for some good. For it 'broke up, to some extent, one 
of the plainest, simplest, most social, and truly religious 
communities in Walton. You will find today, the de- 
scendants of these early Scotch Pioneers among the 
leading business men and best church workers in Pensa- 
cola and Jacksonville and intervening towns along the 
R. R., and in Geneva and Florala, Ala, And we are 
astonished on close investigation, how many of these 
descendants are in these towns. The Presbyterian 
churches in De Funiak, Freeport, Mossy Bend, Florala 
and Geneva are to some extent, products of the Valley 
Church. Time may yet show what we stated in the 
beginning. Walton never needed any R. R. with her 
water courses improved as they could and should, and 
may yet be. We are told that we would never have had 
our beautiful De Funiak Springs, that has always been 
a prohibition town had we had no R. R. That may be. 
But think of it in the not very far oflf future when the 
Pea River with all its tributaries will .be turned near 



The Lotus Land. 35i 

Geneva, down by De Funiak into the Choctawhatchie 
bay and the palatial interwaterway steamers coming 
direct from New Orleans by Mobile, Pensacola, De 
Funiak and Geneva and on to Elba and no telling how 
much farther beyond. And the rich bottoms of the 
Choctawhatchie reclaimed, the river shortened by being 
straightened and made more navigable. These things 
are coming fast. 



352 History of Walton County. 



Chapter LIV. 

De Funiak Springs. 

At the first, this town was called "Lake De Funiak," 
then "De Funiak Springs," in honor of Mr. De Funiak 
of Lousivlle, Ky., a prominent L. and N. R. R. manager, 
named not for his money, but for his noble character. 
Col. Chipley, one of the founders and a great admirer of 
the place, proposed the change, as visitors were saying 
"What a pretty little lake on the top of this hill !" When 
the change is made they will say "What a pretty big 
round spring boiling up on the top of this high plateau." 
This town is situated in the High Lands of Western, 
Fla., on the foot hills of the Appalachians in the center 
of Walton and Western Florida, 300 feet above sea level. 
In approaching this beautiful little table land, in the 
center of which its great Springs boil up in a perfect 
circle of one mile in circumference, around which the 
town is artistically laid off and built. All is upward. 
One broad boulevard on the rimmed circle, conforming 
to the Spring circle. The gentle slopes to the Spring 
making a beautiful park filled with oaks and the tall 
waving pines. Other streets converging into this broad, 
graded, circular boulevard on the top of plateau. Then 
comes Crescent street in a semi-circle, starting some 
distance east of the Spring from Main street, that runs 
east and west, and south of the R. R., passing in a semi- 
circle through Poets' corner and circling around west of 
the Spring and back to the R. R. You will, on every 
approach to its great Spring have to ascend quite a hill ; 



Thh: Lotus Land. 353 

For Big Sandy, Bruces and Alaqua creeks all head up 
around this plateau, and it is thought that they have a 
subterranean source or feeders. This topographic lay of 
the town shows how well Nature has provided for its 
drainage, making it healthful and beautiful for situation. 

The Soil Around De Funiak. 

While the ground on which De Funiak is built, is 
so very desiraible, it is of the poorest in Walton, Yet it's 
astonishing how it will respond so readily and so abun- 
dantly to agricultural tillage and commercial help in this 
oxygenic-nitrogenious clime, when warmed up into as- 
similation by the warm winds from off our gulf stream. 
This soil becomes gardens of blooming roses and fields of 
bending cereals, with the right kind of help. 

The Crowning Work. 

When the Great Master Builder finished the Land of 
Flowers, He stood upon this highland plateau and took 
one ravishing view of His work, its stretches of indented 
sea shores, washed by the great gulf and broad Atlantic, 
its winding rivers and rivulets, its lakes and lakelets, its 
mammoth mineral springs, gushing up from immeasur- 
able depths ; He was pleased with the work and said, "I 
will crown this beauty, we have enough of squares and 
triangles, so I will place my great compass on this beau- 
tiful eminence and strike a circle just one mile in cir- 
cumference and scoop it out with my own hands, form- 
ing a rim around the basin and fill it with springs of 
pure limpid water, gushing from beneath the bedded 
rocks, to cheer the heart and slake the thirst of man and 
beast, and let man embellish it as he likes." 



354 History of Walton County. 

The Planting of the Town. 

This town is truly the product of faith. Let the honor 
of its founding and institutions rest where they belong; 
clearly stated facts, truth in its sovereignty, and broad 
catholic views of the surroundings are promoters to this 
end. When the steamer "C. Fisher" was making her 
regular trips in the early 70's, between Pensacola and 
Freeport, Col. T. T. Wright, then the leading dry goods 
merchant in Pensacola, acquired much knowledge from 
different sources, about the aborigines, the Valley Scotch 
Pioneers, the Knox Hill School and Mr. John Newton's 
work up there in Walton. He became very much inter- 
ested in the history of them, proposed that funds be 
raised to build a Memorial Hall in the Valley, where 
annual meetings could be held, music and speakers pro- 
cured and people from a distance be invited to come and 
do honor to these early settlers, and keep the flame of 
progressive education alive in Walton, and bring about 
a better National feeling. He got no encouragement in 
this enterprise, no account of the inaccessibility of the 
place, the Euchee Valley and Knox Hill being 15 and 18 
miles respectively, from Freeport, the nearest point of 
public conveyance. The survey of the P. and A. divis- 
ion of the L. & N. R. R. was being made. Col T. T. 
Wright, Col. W. D. Chipley and Maj. W. J. VanKirk 
were along, and camped on the slopes around the spring, 
under the shelter of the great pines. It was a beautiful 
star lit night and the moon was in its virgin beauty — they 
saw this gem of waters at its best — they laid themselves 
down on the green sward along its gentle slopes, and 
while the stars twinkled in reflections on its placid bosom, 
and the tall pines acted as sentinels above, lulling them 
to rest with the murmurings to their long accetalious 



1 



The Lotus Land. 355 

foliage ; they dreamed dreams and saw visions of coming 
prospects. And when they were awakened and refreshed 
in the morning, Col. Chipley, the enterprising builder 
said, "The R. R. must come 'by this beautiful lake and 
we must make this a splendid winter resort." Col. Wright, 
the Scotch-Irish thinker, said, "Yes, and let us build at 
least one tabernacle here in honor of the Euchee Valley 
Scotch Presbyterians, and their great teacher, John New- 
ton, who love and appreciate each other so much." And 
Major W. J. VanKirk, "the tolue stocking" Scotch Pres- 
byterian, said, "Yes, and let us make this an educational 
center, let us establish a Presbyterian College here. I 
have no heirs, I will make it my heir." (VanKirk was 
worth $100,000.00 at that time.) And as soon as the 
R. R. was through and in operation, he made this offer 
through the Valley Church to the Florida Presbytery, 
offering too, 40 acres of land at Lake Stanley for the col- 
lege grounds. Trustees were elected, the enterprise put 
in motion, when an unexpected and a most outrageous 
move swept the Major's property from him, as if by a 
tornado. So this noble enterprise fell through. And it is 
due him, to say here, notwithstanding his great losses, 
he made good his promise, "If you will furnish the wood 
work for the Presbyterian Church, I will have the brick 
work done." So the little brick church, nestling by the 
spring beneath the beautiful magnolias pines and oaks 
in Chipley Park today, stands as a reminder of his 
Scotch Presbyterian genrosity. These men moved at 
once to break the ground, to build themselves hand- 
some homes on the spring circle. The Murray Caw- 
thon home, as it now stands, the Levi Plank's, moved 
back in the corner of Magnolia and Third streets, and 
now Dr. Cawthon's home, and the Gray building, now 



356 History of Walton County. 

M. A. Warren's home improved in the corner of Main 
and 2nd street, were the very first dwellings built in this 
town. 

Prof. W. C. Eddie, Levi Plank, St., and C. C. Banfill 
were the first to come to us from the North country. 
Chipley, Wright, VanKirk and Bonfill put their heads 
and shoulders together and made a strong quartette to 
start off with, for town building. They seemed to have 
unbounded faith in the future prospects of the place, and 
so expressed themselves, wherever they went, instilling 
this faith in those with whom they came in contact. Meet 
them where you would, it was, "Winter resort, educa- 
tional center, college town, the logical center on R. R. 
for the county capital." Col. Wright would ever urge 
his long cherished pet scheme, the building of a taber- 
nacle for the gathering in of the clans, for the mingling 
and intermingling of people from all over this great coun- 
try of ours, so as to foster the education established and 
bring about better political, moral and social relations be- 
tween the people at large. This suggestion was made 
long before the Chautauqua was ever mentioned. And 
in the fullness of time they came in their richest expecta- 
tions. We dare say, there is not a town South of this 
fading imaginary "Mason and Dixon" line, in which there 
is a broader, a more catholic spirit, especially among the 
veterans of the two armies of the late war as was evi- 
denced not a great while ago on Sabbath evening, when 
our oldest Union soldier, a pioneer veteran of the place 
died and his pallibearers. to take his body to its last rest- 
ing place were, at his own request, three each, of the 
oldest Union and Confederate veterans of this place. We 
have learned to appreciate each other better in these lat- 
ter days. Some of my best friends are from thi North. 



The Lotus Land. 357 

We ask not "Where are you from," but "W^hat are you?" 
This spirit of faith in our founders, seemed to take hold 
on people from its incipiency. These advantages in pros- 
pect come to the front in every discussion, as the best 
place on the R. R. for a town, and they asserted their 
claims with efifect ; of course there were jealous ones in 
opposition, but this soon vanished into thin air. These 
four enterprising men's elegant homes, buttressed their 
declared faith. And while they were building, others came 
and built, the writer being among the very first to come 
and build, and the question was often put to him, "Why 
did you come to this place?" and the answer has inva- 
riably been, "For Church and School advantages," not- 
withstanding there was not a Church nor School build- 
ing in the place. But he is glad to say, he has already 
enjoyed these privileges beyond his most earnest expec- 
tations. 



358 History of Walton County. 



Chapter LV. 

The Florida Chautauqua Established. 

The Times Union had this bit of information in its 
news cohimn, ''Dr. A. H. Gillett with a party are tour- 
ing in Florida looking out for a suitable locality for a 
winter Chautauqua and will return to Jacksonville on the 
I2th inst." A meeting of citizens was called at once and 
C. C. Banfill was sent to Jacksonville to meet the party 
and try and induce them to come to De Funiak before 
locating. Dr. Gillett and Rev. C. C. McLean returned 
with him. It rained and it poured for several days, no 
depot save a box car switched oflf, no hotel but a few 
scattering dwellings to offer any sort of accommodations. 
They looked over the grounds between showers and held 
an interview with the land owners and were very much 
pleased with the situation and prospects ahead. So, in 
a little while all the arrangements were consummated 
for the Florida Winter Chautauqua to have its home 
here. The managers prepared a pine plank 14 inches by 
14 feet long, painted it snow white, and had these 
words printed on it in large coal black letters: The 
Florida Chautauqua — First Annual Session will open 
Feb. the 10 to March the 9th, A. D. 1885. This board 
was fastened up on a tree in the northeast corner of Chip- 
ley Park, just across the street, west from M. M. Alorri- 
son's home, where it could be easily seen and read by 
the passers by. both on the dirt and R. R. This an- 
nouncemnt may be termed "the open beginning of the 
Florida Chautauqua in De Funiak Springs." The name 



The; Lotus Land, 359 

and what it meant was much discussed and gave it much 
pu'blicity far and near, few had ever heard of the name, 
much less of what it now stood for. The Chautauqua 
Hotel and Tabernacle were begun then, and both rushed 
through, to be ready for the opening. Col. Wright's long 
called-for tabernacle for the gathering in of the clans of 
old Walton, for the intermingling of the people and 
fostering morals and Christian education here, with the 
National Chautauqua idea that he felt must bring about 
broader moral ideas and social relations throughout our 
land, is about to be realized. One of the leading farmers 
and business men of Walton said to Mr. Bonfill. "It is 
foolish to build such a mammoth hotel here, it will never 
be filled up." Mr. Banfill said, "Why, sir, we expect to 
build as much more to it in less than five years." And 
the second year they built on to it the north wing and 
three weeks 'before the next assembly convened every 
room with a fire place, was taken up. 

The Opening Morning. 

When the loth of February, 1885 •ame. about 50 of 
us, men, women and children, came together on the front 
seats, and the diflFerent classes as advertised were ar- 
ranged, and teachers, places, and times of meetings as- 
signed. The teachers were of the very best class in all 
the departments. Rev. Frank Russell, D. D., was in- 
structor in the S. S. Normal. He had a large interesting 
class, who hated to give him up, and who felt wiser and 
better for having sat at his feet. And so it was in all of 
the schools. The first opening evening found about 100 
of us bunched together on either side of the middle aisle. 
At the close of the evening exercise. Prof. W. F. Sher- 



360 History of Walton County. 

win, of the Conservatory of Music, from Boston, came to 
the front with the program in his han dand said, "After 
I had signed my contract for my services here as Chorus 
Director, with Dr. Gillett, he sent me this program. I 
looked over it carefully, took my pencil, put down the 
R. R. fare of every individual connected with it, to De 
Funiak and back home, the hotel bill of each, the cost of 
the talent as I knew it to be with us. and added some- 
thing for contingencies, struck a line and made the addi- 
tion, and found that it footed up $11,000.00. I wrote at 
once to Dr. Gillett, asked him what was the population 
of the City of De Funiak, that he proposed to render this 
program in? He answered me promptly '"Only a few 
hundred." ' I was astonished and when I came and saw 
the few houses around in these woods, I was the more 
astonished. But since I came and learned more, I find 
that you need just such an institution as this located 
permanently in these splendid grounds, around this lovely 
little lake. And the Northern tourists need it too, so 
that they may drop* down here and escape the rigors of 
the cold North and be fanned by the warm, soft, gentle 
breezes, fresh from off your Mexican Gulf stream. I 
learn too that there are business men, moneyed men who 
realize that you need this institution. But let me tell 
you here on this opening night, that if you want this in- 
stitution here, you can have it, it depends upon your at- 
titude towards it, and not upon this man or that man, 
nor upon these moneyed men, but upon you in this lit- 
tle growing town, just now in its emlaryo. Put your 
heads and shoulders together — work and pull together 
and I will guarantee that you can have this institution 
here as long as it will be a blessing to you. Every one 
of you go home tonight, write to your relatives and 



THt Lotus Land. 361 

friends and tell them what a good thing you have here, 
and ask them to come and see and you will be surprised 
how many will come to see and stay. Speak a word 
here and there, urging everybody to come; even if they 
come only as so many sacks of salt, they can't help but 
absorb some of the good things out of this matchless 
program." The people had a mind in those days to fol- 
low good advice and they wote and they came to see, and 
stayed — they came to listen and to learn, neither dark- 
ness, rain or cold kept them back. Those at a distance 
often brought their dinners and stayed until after sup- 
per. The days were full in class work and Tabernacle 
exercises ; and no one could afford to miss any of these 
good things. And before this first session closed, the 
Tabernacle was full on Saturdays. This institution has 
had its ups and downs, as all worthy enterprises have. 
It has always had good friends to stand by it. In its 
earliest days the L. & N. R. R. with its friends stood by 
it and held the bag. In later days they wanted some 
one else to bear the brunt of the burden, and it was rolled 
upon Hon. Wallace Bruce's shoulders and he and his 
family has stood by it nobly. Their business tact, their 
travel and association with such institutions, together 
with their industry, their diversified knowledge and in- 
domitable energy make them a little Chautauqua within 
themselves. And it may be said, that it was under their 
management that the institution was first set upon its 
own feet, where it could stand alone. He had no finan- 
cial help outside of its earnings, until the past year, when 
monied friends, especially De Funiakers, came to him 
with gifts to help build the splendid Auditorium and 
"Hall of Brotherhood," that we now have, that was to 
cost $18,000.00 but will cost $28,000.00 Iby the time it is 



362 History oif Walton County. 

finished up. The L. & N. has continued all these years, 
a close friend to this enterprise and to the people along 
its line, from Pensacola to River Junction in giving them 
an outing from their routine farm work once a week for 
six or eight weeks each year in a R. R. Assembly Ticket 
to all the exercises in the Florida Chautauqua Tabernacle 
during the day, from any point along that line, for the 
small sum of eighty-five cents. All should be very 
thankful for such golden opportunities to visit relatives 
and friends for a nominal sum, in addition to the other 
advantages. We find this paralleled nowhere else. We 
look on these Saturday excursions, as one of the crown- 
ing features of the Chautauqua. And yet, you hear 
"Selfish Greed," lifting up its puny voice in disapproval. 
"These had better stay at home on their farms, with 
their wives and children, where they belong," not willing 
that they may see and hear things that will give them 
cheer in their isolated farm homes through the long sum- 
mer days, but rather see them serfs, chained to the soil, 
coming up annually with their tax money and to buy a 
pittance for their families. If you would have a good 
happy, thrifty community, you must work to give them 
advantages, to bring them in contact with the best things 
extant. Some of Chautauqua's best friends have passed 
under the shadows. Dr. Gillett, Banfill, Chipley and 
VanKirk. Col. Wright was allowed to leave here when 
he might have been retained, with his marvelous fore- 
sight and resourcefulness in developing and crystallizing 
town utilities and beauties. But his forces were not 
fully appreciated until he had gone; so the towns in 
Tennessee and South Florida got the benefits that might 
have been ours. 



The Lotus Land. 363 

Chapter LVI. 

Schools. 

Prof. C. C. Gunn, a descendant of the early pioneers, 
one of the first graduates of Knox Hill Academy, 
was the one that opened the stream of education, that 
now runs so free and fresh through this little town, and 
is destined to 'become a river of knowledge enlightening 
the minds and souls of those who will drink of it, as it 
flows on. This first school was taught in a little round 
log house, north of the R. R. in what is now known as 
"Happy Hollow." The second was taught hy Prof. 
W. C. Eddy in East End and on Main Street in a neat 
little frame building, belonging to Dr. D. L. Campbell. 
This school lasted several months. John L. McKinnon 
taught the third on the grounds now occupied by the 
Public School, in a large frame house and now moved 
off the grounds and used as the residence of P. W. 
Bloodsworth, Esq. This school continued for near three 
years and is now turned into a regular Public School, 
with splendid buildings, a large two-story, commodious, 
modern brick building, with excellent grades from pri- 
mary up through to "High School Grades." The Nor- 
thern M. E. Church and their friends organized a school 
under the name of "The McCormic Institute;" built quite 
a large handsome two-story frame building in Chipley 
Park a little east of the Presbyterian Church, brought 
down teachers and put them to work. In less than two 
years time a storm came, blew down the building and 
put a stop to this educational enterprise. 



364 History of Walton County. 

The Normal School. 

The State of Florida was out on a hunt for a home 
for her White State Normal. We invite her to come 
and see? She comes and finds enchanting grounds here, 
in the home of the Florida Chautauqua, and a booming 
Public School. The grounds are tendered, she accepts 
and the State Normal on these grounds is established 
here and does splendid work, increasing in numbers un- 
til it becomes the most representative public school in 
the State, with a curriculum that did honor to our best 
Normals. And after it had been taught here, success- 
fully for seventeen consecutive years, giving general sat- 
isfaction, the Legislature of politicians met in Talla- 
hassee and took it away from us without giving a 
single good legitimate reason for so doing. Not long 
after the furniture was moved out of the buildings 
Rev. F. L. Higdon then pastor of the Presbyterian 
Church at De Funiak Springs, came in a little early to 
the Wednesday evening prayer meeting, sat down by 
the writer and said, "If there is one thing above another 
in a religious educational way, that we do need in this 
section, it is a religious high School or College, and this 
Normal School property is an ideal locality for such an 
institution and our Church ought to take steps at once 
to procure the property for this purpose, before the State 
disposes of it." I told him that I had never thought of 
it and did not know that we were able to take hold of 
such a mammoth enterprise as that. He presented 
these views to others, and in a little while the old Scotch 
Presbyterians were in a meeting together with their 
friends, the money raised and the property purchased for 
the purpose proposed. An Academic School, leading up 
to Collegiate work was organized under the auspices of 



The Lotus Land. 365 

our Florida Presbytery with a corps of teachers under the 
name of Palmer College. And J. W. Waldin, D. D., of 
Athens, Georgia, was elected unanimously its president. 
He went to work at once in West Florida and South 
Alabama, to raise funds to equip and run it until it could 
be gotten on its own legs. He found many friends re- 
gardless of denominations who responded with their 
substance. He procured an excellent body of teachers. 
G. Clyde Fisher, A. B., of Miami University, was chosen 
as principal. The fourth year with Rev. Lynn R. Wal- 
ker, president, will soon close, as the most successful 
year. The progress has ibeen upward all the time not- 
withstanding the dark financial clouds that have been 
overshadowing our commercial interests. The College is 
now a legally incorporated institution. We have evi- 
dent reasons for believing that the Lord has owned and 
blessed this enterprise and will hold it up. This gives 
us faith to ask and trust Him to give us strength and 
wisdom to stand by it more faithfully. 



366 History of Walton County. 



Chapter LVII. 

Churches in De Funiak. 

The Presbyterians were the first to organize a Church 
here and the first to start a Church building. We put a 
soHd brick foundation down on which the present super- 
structure now stands, that cost us $358.00 and paid for 
it, our money gave out. There were but few of us here, 
and we were poor indeed, and did not want to go in 
debt, so we had to stop for a while. Rev. R. Q. Baker 
was on the commission that organized the Church here, 
was its first pastor for a long time, and gave good mate- 
rial help in the Church building. Rev. Johnson from 
Toronto, Canada, was the second pastor for some months. 
The Northern AI. E. Church came in, organized and 
pushed through their Church building and got into it 
just a little before we got into ours. The Episcopal 
Church was the next to be built, then the Southern 
Methodist, then the Universalist, and then the Baptist. 
So we have six splendid church buildings in our town 
besides the many colored churches. The first building 
of the Northern Methodist Church was burned down in 
one of the many conflagrations we used to have before 
our waterworks were established, they put up a better 
building on same grounds, and the Northern and South- 
ern Methodist have united and they all worship in the 
Northern Church building. The Southern M. E. Church 
building is occupied now by the "Christians." Rev. E. E. 
Erwin, of North Carolina was the third pastor of the 



The Lotus Land. 367 

De Funiak Presbyterian Church. Rev. L. F. Higdon, 
the next, then Rev. John Stanley Thomas and J. W. 
Waldon, D. D., president of Palmer College supplied the 
pulpit for one year in the absence of a pastor. Rev. 
Lynn R. Walker, president of Palmer College, is now 
the regular pastor. 



368 His'ToRY Of Walton County. 



Chapter LVIII. 

Walton's Daughters. 

The glory of Walton has ever been in her daughters. 
The heroism of these daughters of the two wars — Indian 
and Civil — which is akin to Godliness, may never be 
fully appreciated. The pen of the historian is too cir- 
cumscribed to take in and picture to the world their in- 
trinsic worth in all of the varied departments of their 
lives. But they did stand out as bright promotories in 
the minds and hearts of the soldiery of those days ; for 
it was they who gave them good cheer in the sinking 
despondent days, and set them up on the rock again. 
The pioneer fathers and mothers of Walton held ad- 
vanced thoughts in regard to the education and spheres 
of their daughters in society ; and had them educated in 
the broadest sense in the schools Had them brought 
on in the classes with the sons of toil ; for these old 
Scotch educators had long learned, that if you educate 
a boy you will give to the world an educated man to 
help it ; but if you educate a daughter, the world will 
have an educated family to help humanity. It seems too 
as though they must have had some premonitions as to 
what awaited them in the future — a time when the but- 
terflies of fashion, the mothers of brainless dudes, the 
waxen dolls of life, could not withstand the heat and 
toil of the day. They wanted their daughters to have 
some other protection, other than their beauty and mere 
superficial accomplishments. Anacreon, 450 years before 
Christ, in reciting the means of defense bestowed by 



The Lotus Land. 369 

nature on man and beasts, the fowls of the air and the 
fishes of the sea, asks : "What for the helpless woman 
has she more?" And he answers his own question thus: 

"Beauty falls to woman's share 
Armed with this she need not fear 
Flame, nor sword, nor dart, nor spear." 

But the sturdy old Scotch pioneers of Walton wanted 
their daughters to have something else, more lasting than 
their shifting, fading beauty, and sought to give them 
equal opportunities with their sons in the fields of men- 
tal activities. And when the tug of war came, the sad 
twisting days that wrung men's souls, we find them 
ready to help and comfort their weary mothers in their 
never ending toil, receiving in return gushes of praise 
from that well of love that ever springs fresh and pure 
in an overburdened mother's heart. And in the strength 
of their modest retirement, their trenchant pens reached 
out in earnest pleadings to the front of battle, holding 
back brothers and friends from universal corruption ; 
while their eliquent tongues were to the disturbed peace 
at home, as oil to the surging waves. Their training 
seems to have fitted them for all the emergencies of the 
times. It is universally conceded that woman bore more 
than half the burdens of life, and yet, it is rarely you 
hear of them leading in a strike to throw oflF these bur- 
dens, or for higher wages. For self-sacrifice, endurance, 
purity of heart, faithfulness and devotion to duty they 
are, by far man's superiors. One has truly said, "Whilst 
labor is the strength of a country, its civilization and 
refinement are in exact proportion to the love and re- 



370 History of Walton County. 

spect entertained for woman." Walton has ever shown 
the profoundest love and deepest respect for her daugh- 
ters. And how could she do otherwise, when she re- 
members the sacrifices they made for, and how they held 
up the hearts and .hands of her soldiery at the front, 
through these four long unparalleled years of Civil War. 
And, too, how they stood always ready to fold the return- 
ing soldier brothers in their lovely arms in victory or in 
defeat. The writer remembers unto this day, a night 
ride through the Valley, when at home on furlough, 
when the sound of the distafT was scarcely ever out of 
the hearing of his ears, when the swift moving shuttle, 
the bang of the weavers beam, the buzz of the spindle, 
and the merry laughter of working maidens, made the 
music of the long evenings as well as that of the early 
morn and toilsome day. These implements of cloth 
making were wielded not only by the trained arms of 
colored maidens enured to constant work, but these were 
helped by the cheer and deft hands of their mistresses, 
whose fingers -were better schooled in striking sweet 
notes on stringed instruments. But none of these things 
worried these daughters. It was the charge of their 
loved ones at the front, the dread of deserters and coast 
raiders to rob them. It was such carking cares as these 
that piled up "Pelion on Ossia," that well nigh crushed 
their young lives out of them, and not the manuel labor 
they did, nor dread of the negro, in whose power they 
were, for they had never been tampered with, and 
ever remained oibedient nd respectful. Dr. George Fish- 
er, "Walton's first physician, who was robbed and driven 
to Geneva, Ala., by the deserters, was brutally murdered 
there by another band of these raiders from East Ala- 
bama. His wife and dependent daughters were left to 



Thk Lotus Land. 371 

struggle for their living by manual labor under these 
dark forebodings that overshadowed them. These ac- 
complished daughters, like many other Confederate 
daughters in these days, went to work and supported the 
home at the spindle and loom, and b ygardening, without 
a murmur, while their mother kept the home in order. 
In those days there came a rain storm — a cloud burst, 
that over-flooded the banks of the three rivers there, 
driving out all the inhabitants of the town, even carry- 
ing some of the dwellings across the river without wreck- 
ing them. It was the greatest flood in all the history of 
the place and is known as the "Lincoln Freshet." The 
waters stood for several days six or eight feet in the 
dwellings that were not swept away. When the waters 
had subsided so that the homes could be entered by row- 
boats, friends took the Misses Fishers into their drowned 
home to see what was left. Miss Mary a sweet, beautiful 
and admirable young lassie in the bloom of young girl- 
hood, a paragon of excellencies and a prodigy in music, 
was the owner of the beautiful piano in the home ; she 
loved it as some dear friend, it was a solace to them in 
their lonely hours, and lightened and cheered their labors ; 
she could make it talk cheer to them about their Florida 
home that they had been driven from, the absent brothers 
at the front and about their dear departed, sacrificed fath- 
er, who was so cruelly murdered. It was the great com- 
fort in the home for them all. When the row-boat landed 
at their home, the young ladies leaped from it with a hur- 
riedness befitting their anxieties ; they came first to the 
parlor, Miss Mary in the lead opened the door, hurried 
anxiously to her piano, ran her trained fingers over the 
bright shining keys, but no response, it was dumb — as 
silent as death. Folding her arms across the keys with 



372 History of Walton County, 

her head resting upon them, she baptized it anew with 
her tears, while her young heart pounded Hke a ham- 
mer in her generous bosom. Her disappointments, her 
griefs were assuaged by the mollifying words of her sis- 
ters and companions and she was herself again. After 
looking through the parlor at other damages they all 
agreed that things might have been worse. They en- 
tered next the working or spinning room. Miss Mary in 
the lead. On opening the door the first thing that greeted 
her was the old big spinning wheel standing before her 
in a juxta-position, w-ith broach on spindle, band properly 
adjusted, both on little spool and great rim wheel, just 
as she had left it, in perfect order for work and it seemed 
to say, "Here I am none the worse from the flood, take 
hold, go to w^ork, forget the soft melodies of your piano 
and play on me the humble buzzing wheel songs that 
are keeping time in these stirring days with your Dixie 
songs." This was tantalizing, more than she could bear, 
looking about her she spied a hatchet, seized it with a 
''Carry Nation" grip, and dealt blows on its head and 
ears, unspindling and disbanding it, saying, "I shall find 
a more congenial companion in the future to gain a liveli- 
hood with than you." And she did, and is among the 
first ladies of the land raising up sons and daughters to 
call her blessed. 



The Lotus Land. 373 



Chapter LIX. 

The Monument. 

Walton's daughters were the first to organize a Memo- 
rial Society to commemorate in marble, her Confederate 
dead — her fallen worth — the glory of her sacrifices. They 
were the first to erect a monument in stone to a fallen 
Confederate soldier. Soon after the deserters and scala- 
wags were made to know their places and were settled 
down in them, and while the dark clouds of carpetbag- 
gism were gathering over us, her daughters met at 
Euchee Anna and organized themselves into a "Ladies' 
Memorial Association" with Miss Jeannette I. McKin- 
non president, the object of which, was to erect a mon- 
ument in marble in honor of Walton's Confederate dead. 
Notwithstanding the burden that had borne down on 
their shoulders for four years they cheerfully took up 
this new work and went on to it in every laudable way 
to raise funds for its consummation ; and this, too, in the 
face of the disclaimers to such right, through the North- 
ern press. These ladies said, "We will build this monu- 
ment of marble to their memory, they can pull it down 
and destroy it if they like ; but we have one erected in 
our hearts and minds that they can't tear down nor 
mutilate." Sometime after they went to work the ladies 
of Tallahassee organized a State Memorial Association 
to build a memorial monument for the State's Confeder- 
ate dead. Miss Bessie Brown, daughter of ex-Gov. Thos. 
Brown, was the president. All of the counties were 
asked to organize and join in with them to accomplish 



374 History of Walton County. 

this end. Walton already organized and at work acqui- 
esced in the call. A little more than a year after this State 
move the writer went up to Tallahassee and the Walton 
ladies sent by him $250.00 to be turned over to the State 
Association. He could find no one in Tallahassee to take 
charge of the money so he drove out to Bellaire, Gov. 
Brown's suburban home, met Miss Brown, the president 
and tendered the money. She hesitated and called the 
Governor and after ventilating the whole matter found 
that the Association had never materialized. Walton 
was the only one that came up to time and it was the 
consensus of opinion that this money be returned to the 
Walton Association to be used as they liked. The Gov- 
ernor said the trouble in the way was that there were 
such bad feelings brewing in the North that they thought 
it best to do nothing to stir up more feeling and they 
thought best to drop the organization. The money was 
returned to the Walton Association. They had passed 
on all these matters more than a year before, so they 
moved right on with more energy than ever to accom- 
plish their ends. But this sidetracking at Tallahassee 
provoked in them an earnest desire to know more about 
governmental affairs, international laws, states rights and 
belligerency ; more about the men on both sides that led 
in State affairs, and war matters ; who were the bull doz- 
ers and who the todies, before, during and since the war. 
They requested some of the young soldiers to read up 
"with them and become informed on these subjects and 
invited them to deliver addresses before their societies 
from time to time, giving data that would help lead up 
to broader education. They entered as truly, and as 
fully upon this campaign of education, as ever our politi- 
cal parties entered upon their campaign in a Presidential 



The Lotus Land. 375 

year, and stayed in it until they had learned that some 
of the leading Northern Statesmen had gone mad in vin- 
dictive hate towards the South and were seeking, in 
the way of reconstruction, to humiliate and fasten all 
sorts of hardships upon them. For these they could but 
entertain the profoundest disgust. On the other hand 
they found the little two by four Southern Statesmen 
and Editors fondling generously and with sycophancy, 
coddling with these obdurate radical Northern States- 
men heaping fulsome praise on President Lincoln and 
his administration and turning their backs on President 
Davis and wantonly criticising his administration in de- 
feat. Why some of these little Georgia fellows went so 
far as to condemn their own Senator, Ben Hill, for de- 
fending our rights in his famous speech on the arena of 
the U. S. Senate, in his tilt with Senator Blaine — the only 
place left us to set ourselves right before the world. The 
constant persuasions of these little pusillanimous fellows 
were "non-resistance, forbearance, submission, humility." 
Now for these little fellows they held the supremest con- 
tempt, the deepest disgust. Their campaign of educa- 
tion led them up to believe that President Jefferson 
Davis and President Abraham Lincoln were both good 
men in their several places; that they were honest in 
their concepts of duty, and that they were loyally and 
morally active in the discharge of the same. They believed 
that Davis deserved as much honor and glory for what 
he did in following his convictions in the years of the 
civil war, as President Lincoln deserved for what he did, 
and that the Confederate Soldier's name should and 
would stand as high on the roll of honor and fame as the 
Union soldier's. And any well drawn parallel, impar- 
tially gotten up, will show that these ladies were cor- 



376 History of Walton County. 

rect in their conclusions. So in the Hght of this educa- 
tion, Walton's lovely daughters move on steadfastly to 
build a time-lasting monument in marble, to their fallen 
braves, to honor their sacred memories and sacrifices. It 
was erected at first at the Valley Church then moved to 
Euchee Anna, the county site, as a more appropriate 
place, where it stands today as a monument of love in 
pure white marble, plain and unique in its modest dig- 
nity. Yet it eflfectually presents their work of gratitude 
for their fallen worth, to the eyes of the passersby, keeps 
alive sentiments that they cherished and shows their con- 
stant regard for the principles that they sacrificed their 
lives. It is no Bunker Hill Monument, with its shaft 
rising skyward, ''piercing the clouds to meet the sun in 
his coming, so that the earliest light of the morning 
might gild it, and parting day linger and play on its sum- 
mit." It has no broad entablatures resting upon its cap- 
ital, with inscriptions of great generals, battles won and 
independence gained, but it stands there in its modest 
dignity representing heroes fallen in battles won, as much 
as it stands for that glorious "Lost Cause." Its apex is 
a human hand, with its index finger pointing skyward, 
beyond the rolling clouds, beyond the trembling stars 
and beyond the gild of the sun ; alluring to a haven of 
rest beyond the stretch of the eye where there is no 
need of the sun where the Son of Righteousness gives 
light, glory and honor and a due recompence of reward 
to all the deserving ones. They have these tender lines 
engraved on one of the faces of the shaft : 

When the Spirit free deserts the body as it must 
What matters where the lifeless form dissolves itself 
again to dust. 



The Lotus Land. 377 

'Twere sweet indeed to close our eyes with those we 

cherish near; 
And wafted upward by their sighs, soar to some calmer 

sphere. 

But whether on the scaffold high, or in the battle van 
The fittest place where're man can die is where he dies 
for man. 

On another face is this superscription: 

To the memory of the Confederate dead of Walton 
County, Florida. Erected by the "Ladies of Walton 
County Female Memorial Association." 

A. D. 1871. 
Col. Angus D. McLean, 6th Fla. Vols. 

Capt. Murdoch GilHs, 6th Calvin McLean, . 

Fla. Vols. 
Capt. Daniel D. McLean, Daniel Moore, 

7th Fla. Vols. 
Lieutenant James McLean, D. P. McDonald, 
Lieutenant Archibald G. D. McDonald, 

Morrison, Fla. Vols. 
Lieutenant M. C. McRae, D. McQuage. 

Fla. Vols. . 

Lieutenant James McClel- D. K. McDonald, 

land, Fla. Vols. ! 

Angus D. Gillis, Fla. Vols. D. P. Gillis, 
A. L. McCollum, Daniel Mclver, 

Abram Konde D. Silcox, 



378 



History of Walton County. 



A. Ward, 
Angus Gordon, 

B. Blount, 

B. Sylcox, 
Colen G. Ray, Jr., 

C, L. McDonald, 
H. Kemp, 

H. Wright, 
H. Busby, 
J. Ward, 
John Moore, 
John Gent, 
John Crawford, 
M. P. Morrison, 
Modison M. Reddick, 
Martin Reddick, 
N. Wm. Gillis, 
Ned Marshal, 
Pascal Barnett, 
Robert McSween, 
R. Holly, 
Randal McRae, 
Rice Williamson, 
Stephe Milton, 
S. Cotton, 
Thos. Tiner, 
Josh Gleason, 
John P. McLeod, 
J. Barnett, 
J. Gomilion, 
John L. McLean, 
J. L. Anderson, 
J. Rooks, 



Daniel K. McLean, 

E. Gomilion, 

Ed McCuUough, 

E. Wright, 

Hugh McRae, 

H. Henderson, 

Wm. C. Morrison, 

Wm. Welsh, 

W. C. Gillis, 

Wm. McRae, 

Wm. Cawthon, 

Wm. Thornton, 

Wm. Brooks, 

Wm. Gomilion, 

Wm. Tiner, 

W. Anders, 

Wm. Kemp, 

Wm. Wethington, 

Wm. C. Campbell, 

Zion Tolie, 

J. Bobb, 

J. Silcox, 

J. Wright, 

Jack Loundy, 

J. Nelson, 

John Williams, 

Joel Brown, 

John McLeod, 

Joel Marshel, 

James Evins, 

John Kinenton, 

J. Wright, 

Lockland D. McLean, 



The; Lotus Land. 379 

John Welsh, Murdoch Gillis, 

J. Sanders, Malcom Gillis, 

John Brown, Jessa Rrooks. 

At the time this monument was erected, its cost and 
freight was very near as much as some of our State's 
more pretentious monuments cost later. The ladies of 
the Association agreed to have it moved to De Funiak 
Springs as this is the County Site now. 



3B0 History of Walton County. 



Chapter LX. 

Gov. David S. Walker's Tribute to Walton's Daughters. 

When reconstruction was at its highest pitch and 
carpetbaggery at its lowest, meanest efforts and our 
State's best orators were canvassing with a desperate 
effort for political ascendency over the negroes and car- 
petbaggers. On reaching Walton they found a big. well 
cooked barbecued dinner and the largest collection of 
people to hear them thaf ever assembled on a like occa- 
sion. Ex-Gov. Walker was among the speakers, and 
when he stepped from the carriage "The Daughters of 
the Confederacy" being better acquainted with him than 
any of the others, gathered around him and engaged 
for several minutes in conversation with him, and handed 
him a small, white, slim box about 16 inches long. When 
he examined its contents he followed the other speakers 
to the stand and placed the strange little box on the 
table. The Governor was the first speaker introduced. 
He was slender, erect and above the medium height, 
with a fairly large round head, covered with thick iron 
gray hair; with piercing gray eyes in a lean thoughtful 
face ; a chin and mouth betokening courage and inflexible 
resolution. His personality was exceedingly dignified 
and imposing. When he stepped forward and straight- 
ened himself up to his full height all eyes were fastened 
upon him. Then he lifted the strange box from the 
table in his left hand and said, "Noble fellow citizens of 
Old Walton! hear me a few moments in behalf of your 
generous 'Daughters of the Confederacy.' Seven years 



The Lotus Land. 381 

ago they met out on the green, made the stars and bars 
with their own lovely fingers, took down the stars and 
stripes from yonder Liberty Pole and hoisted the then 
new flag — Stars and Bars — to its place and gave it to 
the breeze as their pledge and support to the States ac- 
tion of withdrawing from the Union of States, to es- 
tablish a Confederacy of States in which you hoped to 
find peace and tranquility. Four years later when in 
the providence of God your cause failed and you made 
an honorable surrender and new allegiance to the old 
flag, they took down the flag of the Confederacy in 
which their fond hopes were wrapped, in honor to, and 
indorsement of, your action and as a proof of their own 
allegiance to the powers that be. And today, a few 
years later it was their gracious hands that made and 
hoisted yonder Stars and Stripes to the top of that same 
liberty pole and they and it are saying with you and 
with me, that as it floats there in the breeze in its glory, 
"it represents a white man's government, and that the ill 
designing carpetbagger and ignorant negro must get out 
and give place to just such a government. That the red 
days of reconstruction must come to the bitter end !" I 
was sorry for a moment after reaching here today to 
find these live Daughters of the Confederacy with their 
bright minds and pure hearts staggering under some 
strange apparition that came to them in their patriotic 
work today, but which to me is the glory of this day. 
as they and you must understand. They tell me that 
in the early morn when they went out on the green, 
where they sat years ago in a circle and made the Confed- 
erate flag, that as they sat in this early morn in a like cir- 
cle on the same spot, with the white, red and blue bunting- 
spread in their laps, and as they were laying and stitching 



382 History of Walton County. 

its folds together, to form that beautiful flag that flutters 
yonder in the breeze, there came on swift wings from 
his aerie home near by, a large, dark, grey, bald eagle — 
one of these heraldic birds — symbol of American power 
and liberty. In passing he poised in mid air above their 
heads, uttered a loud shriek and dropped this wing feath- 
er (taking it from the box) on the flag in their laps, and 
then mounted up on quick pinions to greet the morning's 
coming sun. This moved this noble little bevy of ladies 
to wonderland. They tell me that they fear this may 
be a dark bad omen ; that they finished the flag, hoisted 
it to its place but when they look on it and discuss the 
incident attending its making, they fear it presages yet 
more bitter days in reconstruction ; that the loud shriek 
uttered was still ringing in their ears, reminding them of 
that shriek uttered, that they read of at the 'Downfall of 
Poland' when the poet tells us 'Freedom shrieked as 
Kosciusko fell.' But said the Governor, lifting the wing- 
feather on high, this gray pinion brings to me anything 
else but gloom. It is the omen of liberty, the symbol 
of victory, and we will make it, with its history, the toc- 
sin to move men to action in these fearful days. My 
dear worthy lady friends, let not your hearts be further 
troubled. This gray plume gives us new hope with live, 
ardent expectations, and a more indomitable energy in 
this campaign. I shall carry this plume with me all over 
our downtrodden State and lift it on high as your trophy 
of victory to be won, to move any lagging brother to 
activity. Be sure that it presages success to us. This 
bird never witnesses failure. That awakening cry, the 
dropped plume, and the mount upward, signals "awake to 
duty ; there's help ! arise above encroachments. You shall 
see this feather, your hope on the fatal dart, your live 



The Lotus Land. 383 

faith, that wing-ed the shaft, your energy in action, that 
shall quiver in the carpetbagger's heart, sending him to 
where he belongs. Then in sentiment you can appre- 
ciate and say a literal truth, with but little interpolation, 
with the poet who sings, 

"So the struck eagle stretched upon the plain ; 
No more through rolling clouds to soar again, 
Viewed his own feathers on the fatal dart. 
And winged the shaft that quivered in his heart." 

Then the Governor turned to the men, eulogizing 
Walton's Daughters for their faithful work during and 
since the war and showed them how great their shame 
would be if they failed in this crucial time to measure 
up to the full statue of men for the time. This speech, 
in substance, was made all over the State. Men were 
moved to action as they were never moved before. The 
move won and the State was saved. Drew was elected 
Governor, the carpetbagger driven from our country and 
there came great rejoicings and peace. Walton is keep- 
ing pace today with our Nation in its strides upwards 
in these stringent, scientific literary cultured days of 
poesy, and holding up its pristine virtues. It is up now 
to the poet, the very flower of eloquence to tell of these 
days as they come and go. The object of these pages 
is to tell of the prosaic, matter of fact, commonplace, 
love impelling days of long ago, when the latch string 
ever hung on the outside of the door, when we were so 
rich and thought ourselves so poor those days, the 
thought of which, makes our hearts revel in the senti- 
ments of T- Whitcomb Riley's poem : 



384 History of Walton County. 

Pap's got his patent right, rich as all creation : 

But where's the peace and comfort that we all had 
before? 

Le's go a-visitin' back to Griggsby's Station — 

Back to where we use to be so happy and so poor ! 

"Le's go a-visiting back to Griggsby's Station, 

Back where the latch-string's a-hanging from the door' 

And ever' neighbor round the place is dear as a relation, 
Back to where we use to be so happy and so poor !" 

We can't hope to please everybody in these sketches, 
as we have sought to do justice to every individual, com- 
munity, class and institution connected with Walton's 
history and we find some who are never satisfied with 
justice — with truth. Now, if the truths labored for in 
these pages, be crushed to earth and fail, in due time, to 
rise again — then they deserve to go to the waste basket. 
We will be satisfied if these true stories of prosperity 
and decadence — of peace and of war — of plenty and of 
want — and of joy — love — sorrow and gladness, that run 
through Walton's varied history, will help some in the 
ways of right, and none be turned from or hindered in 
these shining paths. 

Address of Welcome on Veterans' Day at the Florida 

Chautauqua on March the 13th, A. D. 1909. 

By the Author. 

Fellow Comrades: 

Our commander, General Pasco, in having me speak 
the welcoming words today, gave me to understand, that 



The Lotus Land. 385 

it did not require the commanding voice of oratory, nor 
the persuasive speech of eloquent words, neither was it 
necessary to dip one's tongue in the fountain of the 
Muses, to welcome a confederate soldier. But, says he, 
"it needs only the simple language of the heart, just true 
heart words.'' It was only then, I felt I might be able 
to make you feel at home with us, on this occasion, as 
my heart is always in tune with, and in sympathy for 
the Confederate soldier. For I know well of his motives, 
his grievances, his sacrifices. To some here, your bent 
forms, youi empty sleeves, your halted steps coming 
down these aisles, may be suggestive of uncouthness. 
But to us, who remember the cause through which these 
came, they are grace, beauty and love. Your persecuted 
cause, that the world now calls "The Lost Cause," made 
resistless appeals to your manhood. To be sure, it sifted 
out the insincere and cowardly, but it left you a force of 
men the stronger for the winnowing. And brought out 
all that is noble and most daring in you. It struck open 
the deeps in your souls. No men could have been more 
sincere in the righteousness and justice of a cause, than 
you were in the one you espoused. Then shall we say 
of a truth, ours is a "Lost Cause?" "Nothing is settled 
until it is settled right." We know our grievances were 
settled by the power of the sword, and time has shown 
us how very unjust and unsatisfactory the arbitrament 
of the sword has been in the past. Now, near half a cen- 
tury has passed, and the problems of those days are the 
unsolved problems of today. "Courage yet," writes 
James Renwick, the soul of the Cameronian Societies in 
the days of the Covenant and Killing Times. "Courage 
yet, for all that has come and gone. The loss of men is 
not the loss of the cause. What is the matter tho' we 



386 History of Walton County. 

all fall? The cause shall not fall." We see a rock in 
mid ocean, with its modest form high above the dashing 
waves, as a beacon light to those who would navigate 
treacherous seas ; inviting the storm tossed ones to take 
rest on its firm foundations. We see the waves of every 
sea leaping upon and lashing it. And in the course of 
time, we find this beacon rock wasting itself away, beat- 
ing back the angry waves. This rock is not lost, it is 
resting there on its granite bed, while the waves roll on ; 
and maybe some day when the waters recede from the 
earth, or in some cosmic disturbances it may be the first 
to lift its broader form to bring light and give protec- 
tion around. So, too, in a political or governmental 
sense, we see a little Republic, born out of contentions 
and disturbances, modestly lifting itself up and taking 
its place among the Nations of the world. It, too, has a 
firm foundation on which to build — a constitution that 
eliminated the evils and interjected the good found in 
other governments. With a splendid code of laws en- 
acted, guaranteeing self government. Yet this little Re- 
public had hardly taken its place on the roll of Republics, 
before the Nations about began to leap upon and con- 
tinued to pound upon it, until it wore itself out driving 
them back. And my fellow comrades, you are here to- 
day as the representatives, the exponents of that little 
Republic — as the resultant — the residuum, if you please, 
of all that pounding. And your ardent support, all these 
years to the overpowering government, speaks in noble 
terms of your patriotism — your loyalty to the same. We 
feel that we voice the heart sentiments of every one here, 
when we say, in defeiiding this little Republic, we did 
nothing that we are ashamed of, one that needs an apol- 
ogy for. None but the coward or degenerate sons would 



The Lotus Land. 387 

dare say less. We know that we deserve as much re- 
spect from the world at large, for standing by our con- 
victions, as those do who opposed us and will be satis- 
fied with nothing less. We acknowledged that we were 
overpowered, or whipped if you please, but not de- 
bauched. The agonies that we know of — the blood that 
we saw flow, must stand for something. As the years 
roll on, in the course of human events, there may come 
a time in our governmental affairs, when "Mercy and 
truth are met together: righteousness and peace have 
kissed each other" — when -'truth crushed to the ground 
shall rise again." When the principles of State Sov- 
ereignty of Liberty (and not chattel slavery as some 
would have believe) that were so dear to us, and for 
which we fought and gave the best blood in our land, 
shall come to the front, assert themselves, and make this 
old Republic — so long as God will have it stand — by far 
the best government on the globe. Fellow Comrades — 
we do welcome you here with all our hearts, and to all 
the good things in our town ; and hope through all the 
years that are going to be yours in this world, we may 
find you able to come up here annually, that we may 
have sweet fellowship one with another. 

Just a few minutes longer with you here, that I may 
say a word about a noble soldier friend, whose name is 
on my mind more than any other. Sometimes I think 
he is the most pitiable of all others, and yet the most 
cheerful. He is not with us today as he would like to 
be. He is a shut-in. He has always been very close to 
me, we were raised together. We entered the army to- 
gether, in the first company from Walton — did picket 
duty on many a line and fought shoulder to shoulder 
over many a battle field. Went on long marches to- 



?if<8 History of Walton County. 

gether — with General Brag^g through Kentucky, and 
fought the battle of Perryville. With General Brecken- 
ridge, through Mississippi as far as Big Black, and 
fought the battles around Jackson. With General Hood 
through Tennessee in rear of General Sherman, and 
fought the battles of Franklin, 2nd Murfreesboro and 
Nashville, where we were captured in the ditches, im- 
prisoned in Northern prisons and lived to return to our 
home at the close of the war. We fought in every 
skirmish in our front, and every set battle from Chatta- 
nooga to Atlanta. We were young, stout and strong, 
and weren't able to miss any of this ''all hell work." 
The 22nd day of June A. D. 1864 has ever been a memo- 
rial day with us, Johnson's army was fortified behind 
works on the top of the mountain — Sherman's entrenched 
in his front, in the valley below. When it was well dark 
on the evening of the 21st I went with this friend in 
charge of the picket guard from our Regiment, to re- 
lieve the line of pickets in our front — for there was no 
security of life in approaching that line, save under the 
cover of darkness. We relieved two picket posts, of 
dead men, and sent their bodies to the rear. Our or- 
ders were to keep a continuous firing night and day, to 
prevent the advance of the enemy. With the next days 
dawn, there commenced an artillery battle over our 
heads that continued through the day. Some of the 
charges of our own guns, miscarried and the missiles 
came leaping down the mountain, one carried away the 
rails we had gathered through the night and piled up in 
our front as protection from the sharpshooters' bullets. 
In the middle of the second night we received orders to 
vacate quietly and fall back to our commands. We fell 
back to the ditches and found them empty, and it was 



The Lotus Land. 389 

after daylight before we came up with our command be- 
hind other works, prepared in advance. And from that 
long perilous day, June 22nd A. D. 1864, the longest day 
in the calendar — that in which our lives were in jeopardy, 
and we kept safely — we have never forgotten its anni- 
versary, nor to be thinkful for our preservation. We 
commemorate it in some way — if not together in festiv- 
ities, we remember it by dropping a letter or a postal 
card on the run, as a reminder. Now, we wanted you 
to know something of this noble Confederate veteran in 
our midst. And while he is being well cared for by 
relatives and friends, he deserves the deepest sympathy 
and the most fervent prayers of every old veteran that 
loves obedience and duty — Northern or Southern. He 
is not only a shut-in, but his manly form is fast giving 
way, under the power of diseases contracted in the army, 
and he is living in a world of darkness, brought on by 
faithful soldier services. His name is Sergeant Malcom 
P. McLean, of Euchee Anna, Florida. 



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